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I. 


SYNOPSIS 

OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES 


WITHIN  THE 

UNITED  STATES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS, 

AND 

IN  THE  BRITISH  AND  RUSSIAN  POSSESSIONS 


NORTH  AMERICA. 


By  the  Hon.  ALBERT  GALLATIN. 


% 


. 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


JYew  York , 29 th  January , 1836. 

Sir, 

I have  the  honor  to  enclose  the  residue  of  the  Synopsis  of  the  Indian 
Tribes  of  North  America,  classed  in  families  according  to  their  respec- 
tive languages. 

My  first  attempt  was  made  in  the  year  1823,  at  the  request  of  a 
distinguished  friend,  Baron  Alexander  Humboldt.  It  was  that  essay, 
communicated  it  seems  to  Mr.  Balbi,  and  quoted  by  him  with  more 
praise^  than  it  deserved,  in  the  Introduction  to  his  “ Atlas  Ethnogra- 
phique,”  which  drew  the  attention  of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  and 
induced  it  to  ask  me  for  a copy.  I had  not  kept  any,  but  had  in  the 
mean  while  collected  and  obtained  access  to  many  important  materials. 
In  the  winter  of  1825-6,  the  attendance  at  Washington  of  a numerous 
delegation  of  southern  Indians  enabled  me  to  obtain  good  vocabularies 
of  the  Muskhogee,  Uchee,  Natchez,  Chicasa,  and  Cherokee ; and  I then 
published  a table  of  all  the  existing  tribes  in  the  United  States,  which, 
in  its  arrangement,  does  not  differ  materially  from  that  now  adopted. 
The  War  Department  circulated  at  the  same  time,  at  my  request,  print- 
ed forms  of  a vocabulary  containing  six  hundred  words,  of  verbal  forms, 
and  of  selected  sentences;  and  also  a series  of  grammatical  queries. 
The  only  communication,  received  in  answer  to  those  queries,  is  that  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Worcester  respecting  the  Cherokee,  which  is  inserted  in 
the  Appendix.  The  verbal  forms  and  select  sentences  in  that  language, 
the  verbal  forms  of  the  Muskhogee,  Chocta,  and  Caddo,  and  the  copious 
supplementary  vocabularies  in  the  same  tongues,  and  in  the  Mohawk 
and  Seneca,  were  also  received  in  answer;  and  that  of  the  Chippeway, 
by  Dr.  James,  (Appendix  to  Tanner’s  account,)  is  partly  on  the  same 
model. 

I believe  that  I have,  in  every  instance,  stated  to  whom  I was  indebt- 
ed for  every  communication  of  which  any  use  was  made,  and  pointed 
out  the  authority  where  recourse  was  had  to  works  already  published.  I 
received  most  liberal  assistance  from  every  quarter  where  I made  appli- 
cation. The  libraries  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  and 

VOL.  II.  1 


o 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


ot  the  Historical  Societies  of  New  York  and  of  Massachusetts,  were 
opened  to  me  at  all  times,  and  their  books  and  manuscripts  communi- 
cated without  reserve.  The  War  Department,  both  formerly  and  lately, 
communicated  the  materials  in  its  possession;  and  I am  indebted  to 
many  individuals,  but  especially  to  Mr.  Du  Ponceau,  who,  in  the  most 
liberal  and  friendly  manner,  put  his  valuable  collection  of  manuscript 
vocabularies  at  my  disposal,  and  gave  me  every  information  which  he 
thought  might  be  of  any  use  to  me. 

The  form  of  a comparative  vocabulary  was  adopted  as  far  as  practica- 
ble ; and,  in  preparing  it,  every  source  of  information,  whether  in  manu- 
script or  in  works  already  published,  was  resorted  to.  The  selection  of 
the  words  was  necessarily  controlled  by  the  materials.  Those  and  no 
others  could  be  admitted,  but  such  as  were  found  in  a number  of  the 
existing  vocabularies,  sufficient  for  the  purpose  intended.  Some  words 
of  inferior  importance  were  introduced,  only  because  they  were  com- 
mon to  almost  all  the  vocabularies;  and  many  have  been  omitted,  be- 
cause they  were  to  be  found  only  for  a few  dialects.  This  will  account 
for  the  absence  of  abstract  nouns,  prepositions,  &c.,  in  the  Comparative 
Vocabulary.  The  deficiency  is  partly  supplied  for  the  Southern  and  for 
the  Iroquois  tribes,  by  the  Supplementary  Vocabulary.  Although  the 
number  of  words  in  the  comparative  vocabulary  (No.  I.),  which  embraces 
fifty-three  tribes,  was  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  eighty,  less  than  one- 
half  of  that  number  could  be  obtained  for  some  of  the  languages.  A 
lesser  vocabulary  (No.  II.)  of  fifty-three  words  includes  sixteen  tribes. 
About  the  same  number  of  words  has  been  supplied  by  Umfreville, 
for  four  tribes,  (No.  III.)  The  miscellaneous  vocabularies  (No.  IV.)  in- 
clude seventeen,  whose  scanty  vocabularies  could  not  be  arranged  in 
the  same  form.  Of  the  ninety  languages  or  dialects  of  which  specimens 
are  thus  given,  I think  that  nine  (marked  (*  and  y)  are  duplicates,  or 
only  varieties. 

The  Synopsis  was  originally  intended  to  embrace  all  the  tribes  north 
of  the  semi-civilized  Mexican  nations.  The  want  of  materials  soon 
confined  the  inquiry,  towards  the  south,  to  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.  The  loss  of  the  vocabularies  collected  by  Lewis  and  Clarke  has 
not  been  supplied.  With  the  exception  of  the  Salish,  and  of  a few 
words  of  the  Shoshonee  and  of  the  Chinook,  we  have  as  yet  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  Indian  languages  west  of  the  Stony  Mountains,  within  the 
United  States. 

The  only  existing  tribe  in  the  United  States,  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
of  which  the  language  has  not  been  ascertained,  is  that  of  the  Aliba- 
mons  and  Coosadas,  consisting  of  five  or  six  hundred  souls,  seated  on 
the  waters  of  the  river  Alabama,  and  who  make  part  of  the  Creek  con- 


PREFATORY  LETTER, 


3 


federacy.  West  of  the  Mississippi,  and  on  or  south  of  the  Red  river, 
fragments  remain,  in  Louisiana,  of  ten  or  twelve  tribes,  amounting  to- 
gether to  about  fifteen  hundred  souls.  The  vocabularies  of  four  of  these 
have  been  obtained.  Each  speaks  a distinct  language  ; and  it  is  proba- 
ble, that  this  is  the  case  with  some  of  the  others.  We  are  unacquainted 
with  the  languages  of  three  tribes,  (the  Kaskaias,  Kiawas,  and  Bald 
Heads,)  estimated  at  three  thousand  souls,  who  wander  between  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Red  river  of  the  Mississippi,  and  those  of  the  river 
Platte  of  the  Missouri;  and  we  have  as  yet  but  specimens  of  the  lan- 
guages of  the  Black  Feet,  of  the  Fall  or  Rapid  Indians,  and  of  the 
Crows.  In  other  respects,  the  Synopsis  of  the  Indians  within  the  United 
States,  east  of  the  Stony  Mountains,  is  nearly  as  complete  as  could  have 
been  expected,  and  embraces  some  tribes  altogether  or  nearly  extinct. 

North  of  the  United  States,  all  or  nearly  all  the  families  of  languages 
are  known;  but  the  subdivision  into  languages  or  dialects  of  the  same 
family  is  incomplete.-  The  inland  districts  of  Russian  America  have 
not  been  explored ; and  I must  acknowledge  some  deficiency  on  my 
part,  in  not  having  investigated  all  the  existing  materials,  respecting  the 
various  languages  of  the  tribes  which  inhabit  the  seacoast  and  adjacent 
islands,  from  Nootka  to  Prince  William’s  Sound. 

The  eighty-onetribes  (excluding  the  nine  duplicates),  embraced  by 
the  Synopsis,  have  been  divided  into  twenty-eight  families.*  A single 
glance  at  the  annexed  Map  will  show,  that,  excluding  the  country  west 
of  the  Stony  Mountains  and  south  of  the  fifty-second  degree  of  north 
latitude,  almost  the  whole  of  the  territory  contained  in  the  United  States 
and  in  British  and  Russian  America  is  or  was  occupied  by  only  eight 
great  families,  each  speaking  a distinct  language,  subdivided,  in  most 
instances,  into  a number  of  languages  or  dialects  belonging  to  the  same 
stock.  These  are  the  Eskimaux,  the  Athapascas  (or  Cheppeyans),  the 
Black  Feet,  the  Sioux,  the  Algonkin-Lenape,  the  Iroquois,  the  Chero- 
kee, and  the  Mobilian  or  Chahta-Muskhog.  I believe  the  Muskhogee, 
which  is  the  prevailing  language  of  the  Creek  confederacy,  and  the 
Chocta  or  Chicasa,  to  belong  to  the  same  family,  although,  in  conform- 
ity with  general  usage,  they  have  been  arranged  under  two  distinct 
heads.  This  would  reduce  the  number  of  families  to  twenty-seven.  Of 


* The  Woccons,  an  extinct  tribe,  distinguished  in  the  vocabulary  as  the 
XIXth  family,  have,  since  that  was  prepared  for  the  press,  been  ascertained 
to  have  belonged  to  the  Catawba  family,  No.  VTI.  The  eight  great  families 
embrace  sixty-one  of  the  distinct  languages.  Excluding  the  extinct  Woc- 
cons, the  nineteen  other  families  have  each  but  one  ascertained  language  or 
dialect. 


4 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


the  nineteen  others,  ten  are  west  of  the  Stony  Mountains;  and  seven  of 
these  inhabit,  south  of  the  sixtieth  degree  of  north  latitude,  the  islands 
and  the  narrow  tract  of  land  contained  between  the  Pacific  Ocean  and 
the  continuation  of  the  Californian  chain  of  mountains,  as  far  south  as 
the  forty-seventh  degree  of  north  latitude.  Six  of  the  remaining  nine 
families,  the  probable  remnants  of  ancient  nations,  are  found  amongst 
the  southern  tribes,  either  annexed  to  the  Creek  confederacy,  or  in  the 
swamps  of  West  Louisiana.  The  three  others  are  the  Catawbas,  the 
Pawnees,  and  the  Fall  or  Rapid  Indians.  Some  new  families,  or  totally 
distinct  languages,  will  hereafter  be  found  in  the  quarters  already  indi- 
cated: West  Louisiana,  the  wandering  tribes  on  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Arkansas  and  of  the  Missouri,  and  west  of  the  Stony  Mountains,  in  the 
territory  drained  by  the  Columbia  river.  Many  distinct  languages  or 
dialects  of  the  Eskimaux,  of  the  Athupascas,  and  of  some  of  the  other 
great  families,  will  be  added  to  the  present  enumeration.  But  I believe 
that  the  classification  now  submitted  will,  as  far  as  it  goes,  be  found 
correct.  I feel  some  confidence,  that  I have  not  been  deceived  by  false 
etymologies ; and  that  the  errors,  which  may  be  discovered  by  further 
researches,  will  be  found  to  consist  in  having  considered  as  distinct 
families  some  which  belong  to  the  same  stock,  and  not  in  having 
arranged  as  belonging  to  the  same  family  any  radically  distinct  lan- 
guages forming  separate  families.  The  only  exceptions,  in  that  respect, 
refer  to  the  Minetare  group  and  the  Shyennes,  both  stated  as  being 
Sioux,  and  to  the  Sussees,  annexed  to  the  Athapascas,  in  regard  to 
whom  the  evidence  is  not  conclusive. 

It  must,  however,  be  understood,  that  the  expression  “ family,”  applied 
to  the  Indian  languages,  has  been  taken  in  its  most  extensive  sense, 
and  as  embracing  all  those  which  contained  a number  of  similar  primi- 
tive words,  sufficient  to  show  that  they  must,  at  some  remote  epoch, 
have  had  a common  origin.  It  is  not  used  in  that  limited  sense  in  which 
we  designate  the  Italian,  Spanish,  and  French  as  languages  of  the  Latin 
stock,  or  the  German,  Scandinavian,  Netherlandish,  and  English  as 
branches  of  the  Teutonic ; but  in  the  same  way  as  we  consider  the 
Slavonic,  the  Teutonic,  the  Latin  and  Greek,  the  Sanscrit,  and,  as  I am 
informed,  the  ancient  Persian,  as  retaining  in  their  vocabularies  conclu- 
sive proofs  of  their  having  originally  sprung  from  the  same  stock. 

Another  important  observation  relates  to  the  great  difference  in  the 
orthography  of  those  who  have  collected  vocabularies.  Those  which 
proceed  from  the  native  language  of  the  writer,  may  be  reconciled  with- 
out much  difficulty ; and  it  is  almost  sufficient,  in  that  respect,  to  note 
whether  he  was  an  Englishman,  a German,  a Frenchman,  &c.  But  the 
guttural  sounds  which  abound  in  all  the  Indian  languages,  and  even 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


some  of  their  nasal  vowels,  have  no  equivalent,  and  cannot  be  expressed 
with  our  characters,  as  used  by  the  French  or  English.  The  perpetual 
substitution  for  each  other  of  permutable  consonants,  the  numerous  mod- 
ifications of  which  vocal  sounds  are  susceptible,  and  the  various  ways 
in  which  we  express  them,  even  in  our  own  languages,  have  been  fruit- 
ful sources  of  the  diversified  manner  in  which  the  same  word  is  spelled 
by  the  European  hearers.  It  requires  some  practice  before  you  learn 
how  to  decipher  those  varieties.  The  habit  is,  however,  acquired  by 
comparing  together  the  several  vocabularies  of  the  same  language,  and 
of  two  or  more  dialects  previously  ascertained  to  be  only  varieties  of  the 
same  tongue.  It  is  proper  here  to  add,  that  there  are  nations  known  by 
a generic  name,  but  spread  over  an  extensive  territory,  without  being 
united  under  a common  government,  such  as  the  Knistinaux  and  the 
Chippeways ; of  whom  it  may  be  said  that  they  have,  properly  speaking, 
no  general  uniform  language,  but,  as  might  be  naturally  expected,  a 
number  of  patois,  differing  in  some  respects  from  each  other,  but  still  so 
nearly  allied,  that  they  are  mutually  understood  without  interpreters. 
Whenever  this  is  the  case,  we  consider  them  as  the  same  dialect. 

The  number  of  families,  of  distinct  languages,  and  of  dialects,  does 
not  appear  to  be  greater  in  North  America,  than  is  found  amongst  unciv- 
ilized nations  in  other  quarters  of  the  globe,  or  than  might  have  been 
expected  to  grow  out  of  the  necessity  for  nations  in  the  hunter  state  to 
separate,  and  gradually  to  form  independent  communities.  Insulated 
remnants  of  ancient  languages  are  also  found,  not  only  in  Asia,  as  in  the 
Caucasian  mountains,  but  even  in  Europe,  such  as  the  Basque.  The 
difficulty  of  accounting  for  that  diversity,  is  the  same  here  as  in  the 
other  continent;  and  there  is  nothing  that  I can  perceive,  in  the  number 
of  the  American  languages  and  in  the  great  differences  between  them, 
inconsistent  with  the  Mosaic  chronology. 

Amidst  that  great  diversity  of  American  languages,  considered  only 
in  reference  to  their  vocabularies,  the  similarity  of  their  structure  and 
grammatical  forms  has  been  observed  and  pointed  out  by  the  American 
philologists.  The  substance  of  our  knowledge  in  that  respect  will  be 
found  in  a condensed  form  in  the  Appendix.  The  result  appears  to 
confirm  the  opinions  already  entertained  on  that  subject  by  Mr.  Du  Pon- 
ceau, Mr.  Pickering,  and  others ; and  to  prove  that  all  the  languages, 
not  only  of  our  own  Indians,  but  of  the  native  inhabitants  of  America 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  Cape  Horn,*  have,  as  far  as  they  have  been 

* The  grammar  of  the  language  of  Chili  is  the  only  one,  foreign  to  the 
immediate  object  of  the  Synopsis,  with  which  a comparison  has  been  intro- 
duced in  this  essay.  Want  of  space  did  not  permit  to  extend  the  inquiry  to 
the  languages  of  Mexico  and  other  parts  of  Spanish  America. 


6 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


investigated,  a distinct  character  common  to  all,  and  apparently  differing 
from  any  of  those  of  the  other  continent,  with  which  we  are  most  fami- 
liar. It  is  not,  however,  asserted  that  there  may  not  be  some  American 
languages,  differing  in  their  structure  from  those  already  known ; or  that 
a similarity  of  character  may  not  be  discovered  between  the  grammatical 
forms  of  the  languages  of  America,  and  those  of  some  of  the  languages 
of  the  other  hemisphere.  The  conjectures  lately  advanced  concerning 
the  Othorni  deserve  and  require  further  investigation  ; for  it  seems  to  be 
admitted,  that,  however  different  in  other  respects,  its  conjugations  have 
the  same  character  as  those  of  the  other  languages  of  Mexico. 

Although  the  materials  already  collected  appear  sufficient  to  justify 
the  general  inference  of  a similar  character,  they  are  as  yet  too  scanty 
to  enable  us  to  point  out,  with  precision,  those  features  which  are  com- 
mon to  all  the  American  languages,  and  those  particulars  in  which  they 
differ  ; or  even  to  deduce,  in  those  best  known  to  us,  the  rules  of  their 
grammar  from  the  languages,  such  as  they  are  spoken.  I have  tried  to 
show  how  far  those  points  of  similarity  and  differences  were  as  yet  as- 
certained, and  have  also,  for  one  particular  branch,  attempted  to  deduce 
the  rules  of  formation  ; or,  in  other  words,  to  show,  that,  notwithstanding 
the  apparent  complexness  and  multiplicity  of  the  inflexions  of  the  Indian 
languages,  they  were,  as  in  others,  always  regulated  by  analogy  and 
modified  by  euphony.  This  branch  of  the  subject  is  contained  in  the 
last  section  of  the  Introductory  Essay,  and  in  the  Tables  of  Transitions 
now  transmitted.  I believe,  that,  with  more  ample  materials  and  in  abler 
hands,  the  inquiry  might  throw  some  light  on  the  formation  and  philo- 
sophy of  languages.  Though  far  from  being  a competent  judge,  those 
of  America  seem  to  me  to  bear  the  impress  of  primitive  languages,  to 
have  assumed  their  form  from  natural  causes,  and  to  afford  no  proof  of 
their  being  derived  from  a nation  in  a more  advanced  state  of  civilization 
than  our  Indians.  Whilst  the  unity  of  structure  and  of  grammatical 
forms  proves  a common  origin,  it  may  be  inferred  from  this,  combined 
with  the  great  diversity  and  entire  difference  in  the  words  of  the  several 
languages  of  America,  that  this  continent  received  its  first  inhabitants 
at  a very  remote  epoch,  probably  not  much  posterior  to  that  of  the  dis- 
persion of  mankind. 

We  are,  however,  left  to  most  uncertain  conjectures,  not  only  in  that 
respect,  but  in  regard  to  every  thing  concerning  our  Indians  prior  to 
their  first  and  recent  intercourse  with  the  Europeans.  They  had  no 
means  of  preserving  and  transmitting  the  memory  of  past  events.  No 
reliance  can  be  placed  on  their  vague  and  fabulous  traditions.  They 
cannot  even  give  an  account  of  the  ancient  monuments,  found  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  of  its  tributary  streams.  The  want  of 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


7 


documents  elucidating  the  past  history  of  tribes  still  in  the  hunter  state, 
cannot  be  a matter  of  much  regret.  That  of  the  commencement  and 
progress  of  civilization  in  Mexico,  and  in  some  portions  of  South  Amer- 
ica, would,  if  recoverable,  be  highly  interesting.  I rather  incline  to 
the  opinion,  that  that  civilization  grew  out  of  natural  causes,  and  is  en- 
tirely of  American  origin. 

In  the  brief  notices  of  our  Indian  tribes,  contained  in  the  first  five 
sections  of  the  Introductory  Essay,  I have,  for  the  reasons  above  stated, 
confined  myself  to  the  events  subsequent  to  the  first  arrival  of  the 
European  invaders.  The  authorities  are  always  referred  to.  The  “ Re- 
lations de  la  Nouvelle  France,”  often  quoted,  are  the  collection  of  the 
original  annual  reports  of  the  Jesuits  in  Canada,  to  their  superiors  in 
Europe,  from  the  year  1633  to  1672,  when  they  were  superseded  by  the 
“ Lettres  Edifiantes.”  They  have  afforded  to  Charlevoix  the  principal 
materials  for  the  corresponding  portion  of  his  valuable  and  faithful  ac- 
count of  the  Indians ; but  he  had  not  exhausted  all  the  information  they 
contain.  The  Map  annexed  to  the  Essay  shows,  on  a very  small  scale, 
the  seats  of  the  Indians  at  the  time  when  first  discovered ; that  is  to  say, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  for  the  Atlantic  states,  and 
to  the  westward  generally,  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth. 

It  did  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  Essay  to  delineate  the  habits 
and  characteristics  which  distinguish  the  Indian  race.  Ample  details 
will  be  found  in  the  writings  of  the  earliest  English  and  French,  and  of 
the  latest  American  and  English  travellers.  I have  only  adverted  to 
some  peculiarities  which  appeared  to  deserve  attention,  and  more  espe- 
cially to  the  means  of  subsistence  of  the  Indians,  to  the  causes  of  their 
gradual  extinction,  and  to  the  only  means  by  which,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
the  residue  can  be  preserved.  Notwithstanding  the  reckless  cruelty 
and  ravages  of  the  first  Spanish  conquerors,  the  descendants  of  the  na- 
tive Mexicans  are  at  present  probably  as  numerous  as  their  ancestors  at 
the  time  of  the  conquest.  For  this  no  other  cause  seems  assignable 
than  the  fact,  that  they  had  then  already  emerged  from  the  hunter  state, 
and  had  acquired  the  habits  of  agricultural  and  mechanic  labor. 

I submit  the  whole  to  the  judgment  of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  and 
have  the  honor  to  be  respectfully,  Sir, 

Your  very  obedient  servant, 

ALBERT  GALLATIN. 

To  George  Folsom,  Esq., 

of  the  Publishing  Committee 

of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mass. 

P.  S.  The  deficiency  in  the  enumeration  of  the  Indian  tribes  border- 
ing on  the  Pacific,  between  the  sixtieth  and  forty-eighth  degrees  of  lati- 


i 


8 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


tudc,  has  been  alluded  to.  The  vocabularies  of  Mr.  Sturgis  and  of  Mr. 
Bryant  were  received  after  the  others  had  been  prepared  for  the  press, 
and  the  account  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Green  had  escaped  my  notice.  In 
order  to  connect  these  with  my  general  table,  it  must  be  observed 
that,  of  the  four  families  enumerated  by  those  gentlemen,  Capt.  Bryant’s 
Sitka  is  identic  with  the  Koulischen  (xxvii.  62);  that  the  Skiddegat, 
which  was  supplied  by  Messrs.  Sturgis  and  Bryant,  is  designated  in  the 
table  as  Queen  Charlotte’s  Island  (xxix.  64) ; that  the  guttural  Nass 
language,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Green  as  spoken  between  King  George 
III.’s  and  Queen  Charlotte’s  Islands,  was  unknown  to  me,  and  is  omitted 
in  the  table;  and  that  the  Newittee  of  Capt.  Bryant,  appears  to  me  to 
be  a dialect  of  the  Wakash,  (xxv.  60.)  or  language  of  Nootka  Sound. 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY, 


The  Indian  Nations,  partly  on  account  of  their  geographical 
position,  partly  in  reference  to  the  materials  which  have  been 
obtained,  will  be  arranged  under  the  following  heads,  viz. 

1.  Those  who  are  altogether  north  of  the  United  States, 
but  not  including  those  families  which  are  partly  in  the  British 
Possessions  and  partly  in  the  United  States. 

2.  The  Algonkin-Lenape  and  Iroquois  Nations. 

3.  The  Southern  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  those  on 
the  western  side  of  that  river  south  of  the  Arkansas. 

4.  The  tribes  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
But  of  those  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  an  imperfect  gen- 
eral notice  only  can  be  given,  as  I have  been  disappointed  ill 
the  expectation  of  obtaining  vocabularies  or  recent  correct  in- 
formation from  that  quarter. 


SECTION  I. 

INDIAN  TRIBES  NORTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

These  embrace  only  the  two  great  families  of  the  Eskimaux 
and  of  the  Athapascas,  and  some  small  tribes,  bordering  on 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  situated  north  of  the  52d  degree  of 
north  latitude. 

Eskimaux. 

The  name  of  Eskimaux,  given  to  the  Indians  of  this  family,  is 
derived  from  the  Algonkin  word  “ Eskimantick,”  “ Eaters  of 
raw  fish.”  They  are  the  sole  native  inhabitants  of  the  shores 
of  all  the  seas,  bays,  inlets,  and  islands  of  America,  north  of 
the  sixtieth  degree  of  north  latitude,  from  the  eastern  coast  of 
Greenland,  in  longitude  21°,  to  the  Straits  of  Behring,  in  longi- 
tude 167°  west. 


VOL,  II. 


2 


10  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

On  the  Atlantic,  the  eastern  Eskimaux  extend  also  along 
the  coast  of  Labrador,  south  of  the  sixtieth  degree  of  latitude, 
to  the  Straits  of  Belleisle  and  within  the  Gulf  of  Saint  Law- 
rence, almost  as  far  south  as  north  latitude  50°. 

The  western  division  of  the  nation  extends  without  interrup- 
tion, along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  from  the  Straits  of 
Behring,  as  far  south  as  the  extremity  of  the  Peninsula  of 
Alaska,  in  north  latitude  57°  ; and  may  be  thence  traced  east- 
wardly,  under  the  names  of  Konagen  and  Tshugazzi  ( Tchou - 
gatches ),  till  they  disappear  entirely  in  the  vicinity  of  Behring’s 
Bay  and  Mount  St.  Elias,  in  lat.  60°,  and  long,  about  140°. 
A tribe  belonging  to  this  division,  inhabits  the  western  shores 
of  the  Straits  of  Behring,  or  that  north  eastern  extremity  of 
Asia,  which  lies  north  of  the  river  Anadir.  It  is  known  under 
the  name  of  “ sedentary  Tchuktchi,”  and  is  as  yet  the  only 
well  ascertained  instance  of  an  Asiatic  tribe,  belonging  to  the 
same  race  as  any  of  the  nations  of  North  America. 

The  identity  of  language,  along  such  an  extent  of  coast, 
contrasted  with  the  great  diversity  found  amongst  small  and 
adjacent  tribes  as  we  proceed  farther  south,  is  a remarkable 
phenomenon.  The  distance  in  a straight  line,  either  from  the 
Eskimaux  seen  by  Captain  Clavering  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Greenland,  or  from  the  Straits  of  Belleisle,  to  the  Straits  of 
Behring,  or  to  the  southwestern  extremity  of  the  Peninsula  of 
Alaska,  exceeds  three  thousand  six  hundred  miles.  But  as  the 
Eskimaux  communicate  with  each  other  only  by  water  and 
along  the  seashore,  it  will  be  found  that  the  distance,  between 
those  of  the  Straits  of  Belleisle,  and  the  Konagen  who  inhabit 
the  island  of  Kadjak,  or  Kodiak,  (north  latitude  58°,  west  longi- 
tude 152°,)  proceeding  along  the  seashore,  is  not  less  than  five 
thousand  four  hundred  miles,  without  making  any  allowance  for 
the  sinuosities,  bays,  and  inlets  of  the  coast. 

But  the  Eskimaux,  who,  though  they  hunt  during  their  short 
summer,  draw  their  principal  means  of  subsistence  from  the  sea, 
are  rarely  found  farther  from  its  shores  than  about  one  hundred 
miles.  On  Mackenzie’s  River,  the  mouth  of  which  is  in  latitude 
69°  40',  the  boundary  between  them  and  the  Loucheux,  their 
next  inland  neighbours,  is  in  latitude  67°,  27",  but  no  Eski- 
maux huts  are  found  south  of  68°  15"  ; and  their  distance 
from  the  sea  is  still  less  on  the  Copper  Mine  River.  They  thus 
form  a narrow  belt  surrounding  the  whole  northern  coast  of 
America,  from  the  50th  degree  of  north  latitude  on  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  GOth  on  the  Pacific. 


SECT.  I.]  TRIBES  NORTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  11 

The  dividing  line  between  the  eastern  and  western  Eskimaux 
has  been  ascertained  with  considerable  precision  by  Captain 
Franklin.  It  is  found,  on  the  Arctic  Ocean,  at  the  northern 
termination  of  the  Rocky  or  Stony  Mountains,  in  about  140° 
of  west  longitude,  where  the  western  resort  annually,  for  the 
purpose  of  bartering  with  the  eastern  Eskimaux  iron  tools  and 
other  articles  of  Russian  manufacture,  for  seal  skins,  oil,  and 
furs.  That  intercourse  is  of  recent  date,  and  the  western 
speak  a dialect  so  different  from  that  of  the  eastern,  that  at 
first  they  had  great  difficulty  in  understanding  each  other. 
The  dialects  of  the  several  tribes  of  the  western  division, 
though  obviously  belonging  to  the  same  stock,  differ  also  more 
from  each  other  than  those  of  the  eastern  Eskimaux.  The 
actual  identity  of  dialect  amongst  these,  and  between  very 
distant  tribes  which  have  no  communication  together,  is  aston- 
ishing. Augustus,  a Hudson-Bay  Eskimaux,  of  the  vicinity 
of  Churchill,  (latitude  59°,  longitude  95°,)  who  was  the  inter- 
preter of  Captain  Franklin,  could  converse  with  all  the  Eski- 
xnaux  met  with  during  his  two  expeditions.  Of  those  found 
west  of  Mackenzie’s  River  in  137  -i°  west  longitude,  Captain 
Franklin  observes,  that  9 their  habits  were  similar  in  every  re- 
spect to  those  of  the  tribes  described  by  Captain  Parry,” 
(north  parts  of  Hudson’s  Bay,)  “ and  their  dialects  differed  so 
little  from  that  used  by  Augustus,  that  he  had  no  difficulty  in 
understanding  them.”  The  distance,  in  that  case  was  in  a 
straight  line  twelve  hundred  miles,  and  more  than  twenty-five 
hundred  around  the  seashore. 

As  now  informed,  we  may  distinguish  at  least  three  dialects  or 
languages  amongst  those  eastern  Eskimaux,  viz.  1.  that  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  northern  and  western  shores  of  Hudson’s  Bay, 
which  dialect  extends  westwardly  beyond  Mackenzie’s  River, 
as  has  been  just  now  stated  ; 2.  that  of  Greenland,  respecting 
which  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  western 
have  no  intercourse  with  those  lately  discovered  on  the  eastern 
coast,  and  that  these  may  have  a different  dialect ; 3.  that  of 
the  coast  of  Labrador,  to  which  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
language  of  the  Eskimaux  of  Hudson’s  Straits  may  be  nearly 
allied. 

Captain  Parry’s  vocabulary,  taken  at  Winter  Island  in  lati- 
tude 67,  is  the  most  recent,  complete,  and  authentic  we  have 
of  the  language  of  the  Eskimaux  of  Hudson’s  Bay,  and  has 
accordingly  been  selected  in  preference  to  those  of  Dobbs  and 
of  John  Long. 


12  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

Not  having  had  access  to  Egede’s  Grammar  and  Dictionary 
of  the  Greenlandish  Language,  a specimen  only  could  be  given, 
taken  from  his  and  from  Crantz’s  accounts  of  Greenland.  There 
is  not,  it  is  believed,  any  extant  vocabulary  of  the  dialect  of 
the  western  coast  of  Labrador.  It  differs  so  far  from  that  of 
Greenland,  that  the  Moravian  missionaries  were  obliged  to 
make  a new  translation  of  the  Gospels  for  the  use  of  the  Lab- 
rador Eskimaux,  that  previously  made  for  those  of  Greenland 
not  being  sufficiently  intelligible  to  the  other  tribe.  An  exam- 
ination of  both  has  however  enabled  the  learned  authors  of  the 
“ Mithridates  ” to  ascertain  the  great  affinity  of  the  two  dialects, 
in  reference  both  to  words  and  to  grammatical  forms. 

Iceland  was  discovered  and  settled  by  the  Norwegians  in  the 
latter  end  of  the  ninth  century.  I was  informed  by  Mr.  Thor- 
kelson,  a learned  native  of  Iceland,  and  Librarian  of  the  Royal 
Library  of  Copenhagen,  that  it  appeared  by  ancient  manu- 
script Icelandic  chronicles,  that  the  island  was  found  already 
inhabited  by  a barbarous  race,  which  was  exterminated  by  the 
invaders.  Whether  they  were  Eskimaux  cannot  be  ascertained. 
Had  they  been  of  Norman  origin,  they  would  have  probably 
been  preserved. 

Greenland  was  discovered  by  the  Norwegians  or  Icelanders, 
about  one  hundred  years  later  than  Iceland.  Fur  colonies 
were  planted  shortly  after  on  the  eastern  and  western  coast, 
with  which  an  intercourse  was  continued,  both  from  Iceland 
and  Norway,  till  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when 
it  ceased,  from  causes  which  have  been  but  imperfectly  explain- 
ed.  Unsuccessful  attempts  were  several  times  made  to  renew 
it,  and  the  eastern  coast  was  found  inaccessible  from  the  per- 
manent and  enormous  accumulation  of  ice  on  its  shores.  It 
was  only  in  1721,  that  the  Danish  government  sent  a new 
colony  to  West  Greenland.  The  ruins  of  the  ancient  settle- 
ment, but  no  traces  of  the  descendants  of  the  first  colonists, 
were  found.  The  country  was  then  altogether  occupied  by 
Eskimaux,  of  whom,  or  any  other  native  inhabitants,  no  very 
distinct  account  is  given  in  the  ancient  relations.*  The  south- 
ern part  of  the  eastern  coast  continues  to  be  blocked  up  by 
ice.  But  Captain  Scoresby  was  able  in  1822  to  approach 
its  northern  part  from  about  69°  to  73°  of  north  latitude  ; and 


* If  the  account,  that  the  Europeans  were  for  the  first  time  assailed 
by  the  nations  in  the  year  1386,  is  correct,  it  seems  to  indicate,  that 
the  progress  of  the  Eskimaux,  in  that  quarter,  was  from  west  to  east, 


SECT.  I.]  TRIBES  NORTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  13 

Captain  Clavering,  the  ensuing  year,  met  with  a tribe  of  Eski- 
maux  in  about  74°  of  north  latitude.  It  appears  almost  incred- 
ible that  they  should  have  reached  that  spot,  either  by  a land 
journey  of  eight  hundred  miles  across  Greenland,  or  the  same 
distance  along  the  frozen  and  inaccessible  shores  between 
Cape  Farewell  and  the  open  sea  in  69°  of  latitude.  It  is 
much  more  probable  that,  at  a former  period,  the  southern  part 
of  the  eastern  coast  was  free  of  ice,  in  which  case  we  need 
not  resort  to  the  hypothesis,  which  places  the  old  colony  of 
East  Greenland  west  of  Cape  Farewell. 

In  the  year  1001,  an  Icelander,  driven  by  a storm,  discovered 
land  far  southwest  of  Cape  Farewell,  where  a colony  was 
soon  after  sent  from  Greenland.  The  country  was  called  Vin- 
land ; and,  if  we  can  rely  on  the  assertion,  that  the  sun  re- 
mained eight  hours  visible  during  the  shortest  day  of  the  year, 
must  have  been  Newfoundland.  There,  positive  mention  is 
made  of  Indians,  who  from  the  description  and  the  name  of 
Skroellings,  or  dwarfs,  given  to  them  by  the  Normans,  must 
have  been  Eskimaux. 

No  mention  is  made  of  this  European  colony  after  the  year 
1121,  when  a bishop  is  said  to  have  sailed  from  Greenland  to 
Vinland.  But  it  seems  that,  to  a very  late  date,  there  existed 
in  Newfoundland  another  race  of  Indians,  extremely  intrac- 
table, seen  occasionally  on  the  eastern  seashore  at  the  Bay 
Des  Exploits,  but  residing,  as  was  supposed,  in  the  interior 
part  of  the  island.  These  are  said  to  be  now  extinct ; and  it  is 
not  known,  whether  any  vocabulary  of  their  language,  which 
might  indicate  their  origin,  has  ever  been  obtained. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  the  Eskimaux,  it 
would  seem  probable  that  the  small  tribe  of  the  present  Seden- 
tary Tchuktchi  on  the  eastern  extremity  of  Asia,  is  a colony  of 
the  Western  American  Eskimaux.  The  language  does  not 
extend  in  Asia  beyond  that  tribe.  That  of  their  immediate 
neighbours,  the  “Reindeer”  or  “ Wandering  Tchuktchi,”  is 
totally  different,  and  belongs  to  the  Kouriak  family. 

The  vocabulary  of  the  western  American  Eskimaux  which 
has  been  selected,  is  that  of  Kotzebue’s  Sound  immediately 
north  of  Behring’s  Straits,  taken  by  Captain  Beechy.  That 
of  the  Tchuktchi,  extracted  from  Krusenstern,  was  taken  by 
Koscheloff ; and  a specimen  has  been  added  of  the  language 
of  the  island  of  Kadjak  opposite  to  the  Peninsula  of  Alaska, 
extracted  from  Klaproth’s  “ Asia  Polyglotta.” 


14  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  solid  foundation  for  the  opin- 
ion of  those  who  would  ascribe  to  the  Eskimaux  an  origin 
different  from  that  of  the  other  Indians  of  North  America. 
The  color  and  features  are  essentially  the  same  ; and  the  dif- 
ferences which  may  exist,  particularly  that  in  stature,  may  be 
easily  accounted  for  by  the  rigor  of  the  climate,  and  partly  per- 
haps by  the  nature  of  their  food.  The  entire  similarity  of  the 
structure  and  grammatical  forms  of  their  language  with  those 
of  various  Indian  tribes,  however  different  in  their  vocabularies, 
which  will  hereafter  be  adverted  to,  affords  an  almost  conclusive 
proof  of  their  belonging  to  the  same  family  of  mankind. 

Kinai,  Koluschen,  and  other  Tribes  on  the  Pacific. 

Two  tribes  are  found,  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  whose  kindred 
languages,  though  exhibiting  some  affinities  both  with  that  of 
the  Western  Eskimaux  and  with  that  of  the  Athapascas,  we 
shall,  for  the  present,  consider  as  forming  a distinct  family. 
They  are  the  Kinai,  in  and  near  Cook’s  Inlet  or  River,  and  the 
Ugaljachmutzi  ( Ougalachmioutsy ) of  Prince  William’s  Sound. 
The  Tshugazzi,  who  inhabit  the  country  between  those  two 
tribes,  are  Eskimaux  and  speak  a dialect  nearly  the  same  with 
that  of  the  Konagen  of  Kadjak  Island.  The  vocabulary 
of  the  Kinai  was  taken  by  Resanoff,  and  is  extracted  from 
Krusenstern. 

From  Mount  St.  Elias  in  about  60°,  to  Fuca’s  Straits  in 
about  48°  north  latitude,  several  tribes  are  found,  both  on  the 
main  and  on  the  numerous  adjacent  islands,  apparently  in 
some  respects  superior  to  the  more  southern  tribes  along  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  ; and  whose  languages  offer  some 
remote  analogies  with  that  of  the  Mexican.  Although  similar 
affinities  have  been  observed  even  in  the  dialect  of  the  Ugal- 
jachmutzi already  mentioned,  these  observations  apply  more 
specially  to  the  Koluschen,  (the  same  with  the  Tshinkitani  of 
Captain  Marchand,)  who  inhabit  the  islands  and  the  adjacent 
coast  from  the  sixtieth  to  the  fifty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude. 
Those  best  known  to  the  Europeans,  are  the  natives  of  King 
George  the  Third’s  Islands,  called  “Sitka”  by  the  Russians. 
The  influence  of  their  language  has  been  said  to  extend  as  far 
south  as  the  southern  extremity  of  Queen  Charlotte’s  Island  in 
52°  north  latitude.  But  it  is  the  opinion  of  several  intelligent 
Americans,  who  have  carried  on  a trade  with  the  natives  along 


SECT.  I.]  TRIBES  -NORTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  15 

that  coast,  that  a greater  diversity  of  languages  is  found  amongst 
them  than  had  been  presumed  by  earlier  travellers.* 

The  language  of  the  Wakash  Indians,  who  inhabit  the 
island  on  which  Nootka  Sound  is  situated  (49°  north  latitude), 
is  the  one  in  that  quarter,  which,  by  various  vocabularies,  is  best 
known  to  us.  The  appended  specimen  is  extracted  from  the 
Narrative  of  J.  R.  Jewitt,  who  was  among  these  Indians  from 
1803  to  1806.  That  of  the  Koluschen  was  taken  by  the 
Russian  Davidoff.  We  have  added  the  few  words  given 
by  Mackenzie,  of  the  language  of  the  Friendly  Village  near 
the  sources  of  Salmon  River  in  53°  of  north  latitude,  some 
of  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Straits  of  F uca,  taken  from 
the  Spanish  Voyage  of  the  “ Sutil  y Mexicana,”  and  a short 
vocabulary  of  those  on  Queen  Charlotte’s  Islands,  lately  sup- 
plied by  the  Hon.  William  Sturgis,  of  Boston. 

These  languages  appear  to  belong  to  distinct  families.  But 
those  several  tribes  have  been  introduced  here,  principally  in 
reference  to  their  geographical  situation.!  Bounded  on  the 
east  by  a range  of  mountains,  which  may  be  traced  southward- 
ly to  California,  and  which,  running  parallel  to  the  coast,  no 
where  recedes  far  from  it,  those  seashore  tribes  do  not  extend, 
so  far  as  has  been  ascertained,  farther  inland  than  the  sources 
of  the  short  rivers  which  empty  in  that  quarter  into  the  sea. 
They,  like  the  Eskimaux,  form  a belt  of  about  one  hundred 
miles  in  breadth,  which  separates  the  Inland  Indians  from  the 
seashore.  We  at  least  know  with  certainty,  by  Harmon’s 
and  Mackenzie’s  accounts,  that  the  inland  Athapascas  extend 
westwardly  within  that  distance  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  his  voyage  to  the  Pacific,  after 
having  descended  the  Tacoutche  Tesse,  or  Fraser’s  River, 
which  he  mistook  for  the  Columbia,  as  low  down  as  52°  30’ 
of  north  latitude,  ascending  it  again  about  one  hundred  miles, 
and  then  steering  his  course  by  land  westwardly,  across  the 
chain  of  mountains  last  mentioned,  arrived  at  the  sources  of 
Salmon  River.  Descending  that  short  stream  to  its  mouth  in 
Fitzhugh’s  Sound,  he  reached  the  ocean  in  latitude  52°  20k 
He  could  not  collect  a vocabulary  of  the  language  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  seacoast,  but  represents  it  as  differing  from 

* See  Appendix,  — Note  by  the  Publishing  Committee. 

t It  is  also  proper  to  observe,  that  though  placed  on  that  account  under 
this  head,  it  is  without  any  reference  to  the  unsettled  question  re- 
specting the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


16  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

that  of  the  Friendly  Village,  situated  near  the  source  of  the 
river  and  about  ninety  miles  from  its  mouth.  All  the  other 
tribes  along  the  route  of  Mackenzie,  from  the  Lake  Athapasca, 
or  “ of  the  Hills,”  to  the  sources  of  Salmon  River,  belong  to  the 
Athapasca  family.  The  southern  point  which  he  reached  on 
the  Tacoutche  Tesse,  is  on  the  boundary  line  between  the 
Athapascas  and  the  Atnahs,  another  inland  tribe  which  extends 
thence  southwardly. 

The  chain  of  mountains  nearest  to  the  Pacific  is  a natural 
limit,  which  separates  the  inland  tribes  from  those  on  the  shores 
of  that  ocean.  But  nature  had  erected  no  such  barrier  be- 
tween the  Eskimaux,  who  inhabit  the  seacoasts  of  the  Arctic 
seas,  and  their  southern  neighbours,  the  Athapascas.  They 
are  in  a perpetual  state  of  warfare  ; but  neither  covets  the 
territory  occupied  by  the  other.  The  deeply  rooted  and  ir- 
reconcilable habits  of  the  two  nations,  derived  indeed  from  their 
respective  geographical  positions,  have  rendered  the  boundary 
between  them  as  permanent,  as  if  it  had  been  marked  out  by 
nature. 


Athapascas. 

If  from  the  mouth  of  the  Churchill  or  Missinipi*  River, 
Which  empties  into  Hudson’s  Bay,  in  latitude  59° -60°,  a line 
be  drawn,  ascending  that  river  to  its  source,  where  it  is  known 
by  the  name  of  Beaver  River  (latitude  about  54°),  thence  along 
the  ridge,  which  separates  the  north  branch  of  the  River  Sas- 
kachewan  from  those  of  the  Athapasca,  or  Elk  River,  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  thence  westwardly  till  within  about  one 
hundred  miles  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  latitude  52°  30' ; all  the 
inland  tribes,  north  of  that  line,  and  surrounded,  on  all  the  other 
sides,  from  Hudson’s  Bay  to  the  Pacific,  by  the  narrow  belt 
inhabited  by  the  Eskimaux  and  the  other  maritime  tribes  last 

* Missinipi,  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Mississipi.  Both  are 
Algonkin  denominations,  the  first  derived  from  nipt,  water;  the  last 
from  sipi,  river.  Missi  never  means  “ father,”  but,  in  several  dialects, 
“ all,  whole.”  In  Algonkin  and  Knistinaux,  missi  ackki  and  messe  aski, 
“the  whole  earth,  the  world,”  from  achlci,  aski,  earth,  (Mackenzie.)  In 
Abenaki,  messixi,  “all,  whole;”  French  tout,  (Rasle.)  In  Delaware, 
mesitscheyen,  “wholly,”  (Zeisberger).  I think  therefore  the  proper 
meaning  of  Missinipi  and  Mississipi,  to  be  respectively,  “the  whole 
water,”  and  “ the  whole  river.”  Both  designations  are  equally  appro- 
priate. Rivers  united  form  the  Mississipi.  The  Missinipi  receives 
and  collects  the  waters  of  a multitude  of  ponds  and  lakes. 


SECT.  I.]  TRIBES  NORTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  17 

described,  do,  so  far  as  they  are  known,  belong,  with  a single 
exception,  to  one  family  and  speak  kindred  languages.  I have 
designated  them  by  the  arbitrary  denomination  of  Athapascas, 
which,  derived  from  the  original  name  of  the  lake  since  called 
“ Lake  of  the  Hills,”  is  also  that  which  was  first  given  to  the 
central  part  of  the  country  they  inhabit.  Their  southern  boun- 
dary as  above  described  is  not  in  all  its  details  precisely  correct, 
and  is  rather  that  which  existed  eighty  years  ago,  before  en- 
croachments had  been  made  on  their  territory  by  the  Knisti- 
naux. 

The  exception  alluded  to  is  that  of  the  “ Quarrellers,”  or 
“ Loucheux,”  a small  tribe  near  the  mouth  of  Mackenzie’s 
River,  immediately  above  the  Eskimaux,  whose  language  they 
generally  understand,  whilst  their  own  appeared  to  Mackenzie 
and  to  Captain  Franklin  to  be  different  from  that  of  the  adja- 
cent Athapasca  tribes.  As  we  have  no  vocabulary  of  it,  no 
definitive  opinion  can  be  formed  of  its  character. 

But  a portion  of  the  territory  included  within  the  boundaries 
we  have  assigned  to  the  Athapascas  remains  still  unexplored. 

The  Rocky  Mountains  are  a continuation  of  the  Mexican 
Andes.  The  Columbia  is  the  only  large  western  river,  empty- 
ing into  the  Pacific,  which,  as  well  as  its  numerous  tributaries, 
has  its  source  in  that  chain.  Between  the  35th  and  40th 
degrees  of  north  latitude,  the  distance  from  the  mountains  to 
the  sea  may  not  be  less  than  nine  hundred  miles.  Their  course 
being  west  of  north,  they  gradually  approach  the  shores,  from 
which  they  are  not  farther  titan  four  hundred  miles  in  the  lati- 
tude of  57°— 5S°.  The  coast  thence  recedes  westwardly, 
whilst  the  chain  continuing  its  course  northwardly,  terminates 
west  of  Mackenzie’s  River,  within  a very  short  distance  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean.  No  part  of  the  inland  country  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  north  of  the  59th  or  60th  degree  of  lat- 
itude, has  as  yet  been  explored  ; or  at  least  no  account  of  it 
has  ever  been  published  ; arid  it  is  only  from  analogy,  and  be- 
cause the  whole  of  the  extensive  territory  above  described, 
which  has  been  explored,  is  inhabited  by  Indians  of  the  Atha- 
pasca family,  that  it  is  presumed,  that  this  will  also  be  found 
to  be  the  case  with  the  Indians  of  the  portion  not  yet  explored. 

The  most  easterly  Athapasca  tribe,  which  extends  to  Hud- 
son’s Bay,  has  received  from  the  agents  of  the  Company  of  that 
name  the  appellation  of  Northern  Indians,  as  contradistinguish- 
ed from  the  eastern  Knistinaux,  who  inhabit  the  country  south 

VOL.  II.  3 


18 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


of  the  Missinipi  or  Churchill  River.  It  was  under  the  guid- 
ance of  those  Indians,  and  without  a single  white  attendant, 
that  Hearne  reached  in  July,  1771,  the  Arctic  Ocean,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River.  Having  no  other  instrument 
but  an  old  quadrant,  and  having  made  but  few  observations,  he 
placed  the  mouth  of  that  river  in  120°  west  longitude  and 
almost  72°  of  north  latitude.  It  has  since  been  found,  by  the 
correct  observations  of  Captain  Franklin,  to  lie  in  115°  37' 
west  longitude  and  in  latitude  67°  48'.  Notwithstanding  this 
enormous  difference,  full  justice  has  been  rendered  to  the  cor- 
rectness, in  other  respects,  of  his  relation.  All  his  distances 
are  indeed  apparently  estimated  from  the  fatigues  of  the  jour- 
ney and  must  be  reduced.  He  wintered  on  his  return  on  the 
Lake  Athapasca,  and  he  describes  the  country  of  the  Northern 
Indians,  as  bounded  on  the  south  by  Churchill  River,  on  the 
north  by  the  Coppermine  and  Dog-rib  Indians,  on  the  west  by 
the  Athapasca  country,  and  extending  five  hundred  miles  from 
east  to  west.  It  is  evident  that  a part  of  Mackenzie’s  Cheppe- 
yans  is  included  within  that  description.  Hearne  regrets 
(Preface)  the  loss  of  a voluminous  vocabulary  collected  by  him 
of  the  language  of  the  Northern  Indians.  But,  from  the  words 
scattered  through  his  relation,  it  appears  clearly  to  be  the  same 
with  that  of  the  Cheppeyans  ; and  he  states  (June,  1771,)  that 
the  Coppermine  and  the  Northern  Indians  are  but  one  people, 
and  that  their  language  differs  less  than  that  of  provinces  of 
England  adjacent  to  each  other.  The  Cheppeyans  generally 
trade  at  and  are  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Lake  Athapasca. 
According  to  Mackenzie,  they  consider  the  country  between  the 
parallels  of  latitude  60°  and  65°  and  longitude  100°  to  1 10°  west, 
as  their  lands  or  home.  It  consists  almost  entirely  of  barrens, 
destitute  of  trees ; and  they  are  obliged  to  winter  in  the  adja- 
cent woods  and  in  the  vicinity  of  lakes.  Though  the  most 
numerous  tribe  of  that  family,  the  highest  estimate  of  their 
population  is  eight  hundred  men.  They  call  themselves,  ac- 
cording to  Captain  Franklin,  Saw-eessaw-dmneh,  u Rising-sun 
Men  ” ; and  their  hunting-grounds  extend  towards  the  south  to 
the  Lake  Athapasca  and  to  the  River  Churchill.  The  vo- 
cabulary of  their  language  by  Mackenzie  is  the  only  one  we 
have  of  any  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  that  family  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  geographical  situation  and  the  names 
of  the  other  tribes  are  given  either  by  Mackenzie  or  by 
Captain  Franklin,  or  by  both.  But  they  are  all  expressly 


SECT.  I.]  TRIBES  NORTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  19 

said  to  speak  dialects  of  the  same  language  with  that  of  the 
Cheppeyans. 

The  tribes  thus  enumerated  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
are ; north  of  the  Cheppeyans  and  east  of  Mackenzie’s  River, 
the  Coppermine  Indians,  who  call  themselves  Tantsawhot 
dinneh , “ Birch-rind  Men,”  living  formerly  on  the  south  side  of 
the  great  Slave  Lake,  but  now  north  of  it  on  Knife  River,  one 
hundred  and  ninety  souls  ; and  west  of  them  the  Thlingeha  din- 
neh, or  “Dog-rib  ” Indians,  sometimes  also  called  “ Slaves,”  a 
name  properly  meaning  “ strangers,”  and  which  has  been 
given  by  the  Knistinaux  to  several  tribes  which  they  drove 
farther  north,  or  west.  Population  two  hundred  hunters. 

On  Mackenzie’s  River,  below  the  great  Slave  Lake  are  found 
the  Strongbow,  Edchawiawoot,  or  “Thick  Wood,”  hunters,  sev- 
enty ; the  Mountain  Indians,  hunters,  forty  ; the  Ambawtawoot, 
or  “Sheep  ” Indians  ; and  the  Kancho  or  “ Hare”  Indians,  ex- 
tending towards  the  great  Bear  Lake,  and  adjacent,  on  the  west, 
to  the  Dog-rib  Indians.  Below  the  Hare  Indians  are  found  the 
j Oeegothee,  Loucheux,  or  Quarrellers,  already  mentioned  as 
speaking  a different  language,  and  being  adjacent  to  the  Eski- 
maux.  On  the  River  Aux  Liards,  (Poplar  River,)  or  south 
branch  of  Mackenzie’s  River,  into  which  it  empties  in  latitude 
62°  30/  — 63°,  the  Nohannies,  and  the  Tsillaw-awdoot  or 
“ Brushwood  ” Indians,  are  mentioned. 

On  the  Unjigah,  Unijah,  or  Peace  River,  the  Beaver  and 
Rocky  Mountain  Indians  ; together  one  hundred  and  fifty 
hunters. 

Near  the  sources  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Saskachawan, 
the  Sussees  or  Sursees,  stated  by  Sir  A.  Mackenzie  to  speak  a 
dialect  of  the  Cheppeyan  language.-  This  is  corroborated  by 
information  lately  received  from  an  intelligent  gentleman  of  the 
same  name,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  establishment  of  the 
Missouri  American  Fur  Company  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow 
Stone  River.  The  short  vocabulary  of  Umfreville  exhibits 
however  but  few  affinities. 

The  Athapasca  or  Elk  River,  flowing  from  the  south,  and  the 
Unijah  or  Peace  River,  from  the  west,  unite  their  waters  at  the 
western  extremity  of  the  Lake  Athapasca,  and  thence  assume 
the  name  first  of  Slave,  and,  from  the  outlet  of  the  Slave  Lake, 
of  Mackenzie’s  River.  The  River  Athapasca  has  its  source 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains ; and  the  territory  lying  on  its  waters, 
though  formerly  inhabited  by  Athapasca  tribes,  is  now  in  the 


20 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


possession  of  the  Knistinaux,  who  have  driven  away  the  origi- 
nal inhabitants. 

The  Unijah,  which  is  the  principal  branch,  has  its  source 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  through  which  it  forces  its  pas- 
sage. It  was  up  that  river  and  its  southwestern  branch,  that 
Sir  A.  Mackenzie  proceeded  on  his  expedition  to  the  Pacific. 
He  found  there,  as  has  already  been  stated,  several  tribes 
speaking  dialects  belonging  to  the  same  family  as  that  of  the 
Cheppeyans.  He  designates  them  under  several  probably  local 
names,  Nauscud  Dennies,  Slouacus  Dennies,  and  Nagailers, 
and  has  left  a short  vocabulary  of  the  last.  From  Mr.  Harmon, 
an  American,  who  resided  several  years  amongst  those  tribes, 
we  have  a recent  and  much  more  comprehensive  account,  as 
well  as  a vocabulary  of  the  principal  tribe,  the  Carriers,  who 
call  themselves  “ Tacullies,”  or  “ people  who  go  upon  water.” 
He  describes  the  country,  called  New  Caledonia  by  the  North- 
west Fur  Company,  as  extending,  west  of  the  Stony  Moun- 
tains, three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  from 
the  51st  to  the  58th  degree  of  north  latitude.  He  says  that  it 
is  very  mountainous,  containing  several  lakes ; that  about  one 
sixth  part  is  covered  with  water ; and  that  the  whole  popula- 
tion does  not  exceed  five  thousand  souls.  This  must  include 
not  only  all  the  Athapasca  tribes,  as  far  north  as  latitude  58°, 
but  also  part  of  the  Atnahs. 

The  Tacullies  appear  to  be  seated  principally  on  the  head- 
waters of  Fraser’s  River,  and  Mr.  Harmon  mentions  two  other 
nations  as  speaking  similar  dialects,  the  Sicaunies  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Unijah  River,  and  the  Nateotetains,*  wdio  live 
west  of  the  Tacullies,  on  a considerable  river  of  the  same 
name,  which,  according  to  his  map,  empties  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  in  about  latitude  53°  30'. 

The  similarity  of  language  amongst  all  the  tribes  that  have 
been  enumerated  under  this  head  (the  Loucheux  excepted) 
is  fully  established.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  any  distinct 
affinities  with  any  other  than  that  of  the  Kinai.  Yet  wTe  may 
observe  that  the  word  11  men,”  or  “ people,”  in  the  Eskimaux 
language  is  ------  innuit, 

in  the  Cheppeyan  _____  dinnie, 

in  some  of  the  Algonkin-Lenape  dialects  inini; 

and  that  the  Cheppeyan  word  for  “ woman,”  chequois,  seems 
allied  to  the  Lenape  squaw. 


Page  379.  But  this  is  doubtful. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IR0Q.U01S  NATIONS. 


21 


SECTION  II. 

ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS. 

The  Cheppeyan  and  other  eastern  Athapasca  tribes  are 
bounded  on  the  south  by  Indians  of  the  great  family,  called 
Algonkin  by  the  French,  and  recently  Lenape  in  America. 

The  Iroquois  tribes  are,  on  all  sides  but  the  south,  bounded 
by  the  Algonkin-Lenape ; and  it  is  most  convenient  to  describe, 
in  the  first  place,  the  limits  of  the  territory  which  was  in  pos- 
session of  both  together,  at  the  time  when  the  Europeans  made 
their  first  settlements  in  that  part  of  North  America. 

Those  limits  may  be  generally  stated  to  have  been  : 

On  the  north  ; the  Missinipi  River  from  its  source  to  its  mouth 
in  Hudson’s  Bay,  and  thence,  crossing  that  bay,  a line  extend- 
ing westwardly,  through  Labrador,  until  it  reaches  the  Eski- 
maux. 

On  the  east;  the  Labrador  Eskimaux,  and,  from  the  ex- 
treme boundary  of  these  on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  Cape  Hatteras  or  its 
vicinity  ; the  line  across  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  passing 
between  Cape  Breton  Island  and  Newfoundland ; although  it 
is  possible  that  the  Micmacs,  an  Algonkin  tribe,  may  have 
occupied  the  southwestern  parts  of  the  last  mentioned  island. 

On  the  south  ; an  irregular  line,  drawn  westerly  from  Cape 
Hatteras  to  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  or  its 
vicinity  ; which  divided  the  Tuscaroras,  Iroquois,  and  various 
Lenape,  from  some  extinct  tribes,  and  from  the  respective  terri- 
tories- of  the  Catawbas,  of  the  Cherokees,  and  of  the 
Chickasaws. 

On  the  west ; the  Mississippi  to  its  source,  thence  the  Red  Riv- 
er of  Lake  Winnipek,  formerly  called  Lake  of  the  Assiniboins  (a 
Sioux  tribe),  down  to  that  lake;  whence  the  original  line  north- 
wardly to  the  Missinipi  cannot  be  correctly  traced.  The  Al- 
gonkin tribes  are,  along  the  whole  of  this  line,  bounded  on  the 
west  by  the  Sioux.  But  there  are  several  exceptions  to  the 
general  designation  of  the  Mississippi  as  forming  the  boundary. 
This  was  probably  formerly  true,  as  high  up  as  Prairie  du  Chien 
in  latitude  43°.  But  the  united  Sacs  and  Foxes,  an  Algonkin 
nation,  are  now  established  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi, 
from  the  River  Desmoines  to  Prairie  du  Chien;  whilst,  above 
that  point,  the  Dahcotas,  the  principal  Sioux  nation,  have  long 


22  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

been  in  full  possession  of  a portion  of  the  country  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river,  at  least  as  high  up  as  the  45th  degree  of  lat- 
tude.  And  the  Winnebagoes,  another  distinct  Sioux  tribe,  were, 
when  the  French  made  their  settlements  in  Canada,  already 
established  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Michigan. 

The  Iroquois  nations  consisted  of  two  distinct  groups,  both 
embraced  within  those  boundaries,  but  which,  when  they  were 
first  known  to  the  Europeans,  were  separated  from  each  other 
by  several  intervening,  but  now  extinct  Lenape  tribes. 

The  northern  group  or  division  was  on  all  sides  surrounded 
by  Algonkin-Lenape  tribes.  When  Jaques  Cartier  entered 
and  ascended  the  river  St.  Lawrence  in  1535,  he  found  the 
site  of  Montreal,  then  called  Hochegala,  occupied  by  an  Iroquois 
tribe,  as  evidently  appears  by  his  vocabulary,  an  extract  from 
which,  taken  from  De  Laet,  is  annexed.  We  have  no  further 
account  till  the  year  1608,  when  Champlain  founded  Quebec; 
and  the  island  of  Montreal  was  then  inhabited  by  the  Algon- 
kins.  The  boundaries  of  the  Northern  Iroquois  appear,  at  that 
time,  to  have  been  as  follows : 

On  the  north,  the  height  of  land  which  separates  the  waters 
of  the  Ottawa  River,  from  those  which  fall  into  Lakes  Huron  and 
Ontario  and  the  River  St.  Lawrence.  But  the  country  north 
of  the  lakes  was  a debatable  ground,  on  which  the  Iroquois  had 
no  permanent  establishment,  and  at  least  one  Algonquin  tribe, 
called  “ Mississagues,”  was  settled. 

On  the  west,  Lake  Huron  and,  south  of  Lake  Erie,  a line 
not  far  from  the  Scioto,  extending  to  the  Ohio,  which  was  the 
boundary  between  the  Wyandols,  or  other  now  extinct  Iro- 
quois tribes,  and  the  Miamis  and  Illinois. 

On  the  east,  Lake  Champlain  and,  farther  south,  the  Hud- 
son River  as  low  down  as  the  Katskill  Mountains,  which  separ- 
ated the  Mohawks  from  the  Lenape  Wappingers  of  Esopus. 

The  southern  boundary  cannot  be  accurately  defined.  The 
Five  Nations  were  then  carrying  on  their  war  of  subjugation  and 
extermination  against  all  the  Lenape  tribes  west  of  the  River 
Delaware.  Their  war  parties  were  already  seen  in  1608  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Susquehannah  ; and  it  is  impossible  to  distin- 
guish between  what  they  held  in  consequence  of  recent  con- 
quests and  their  original  limits.  These  did  not  probably  ex- 
tend beyond  the  range  of  mountains,  which  form  southwest- 
wardly  the  continuation  of  the  Katskill  chain.  West  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  they  are  not  known  to  have  had  any 
settlement  south  of  the  Ohio  ; though  the  Wyandots  have  left 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  23 

their  name  to  a southern  tributary  of  that  river,  (the  Guy- 
andot.) 

The  southern  division  of  the  Iroquois,  the  principal  nation 
of  which  was  called,  in  Virginia,  Monasans,  in  North  Carolina, 
Tuscaroras,  extended  above  the  falls  of  the  great  rivers,  at 
least  as  far  north  as  James  River,  and  southwardly  at  least  to 
the  river  Neus.  They  were  bounded  on  the  east  by  Lenape 
tribes  bordering  on  the  Chesapeake  and  Atlantic,  on  the  south 
by  the  Cheraws  and  the  Catawbas,  on  the  north  and  west 
by  extinct  tribes,  some  of  the  Lenape  stock,  others  of  doubt- 
ful or  unknown  origin. 


ALGONKIN-LENAPE  NATIONS. 

The  numerous  nations  and  tribes,  into  which  that  large  family 
was  subdivided,  may  geographically,  but  not  without  some  re- 
gard to  the  difference  of  languages,  be  arranged  under  four 
heads  ; Northern,  Northeastern,  Eastern  or  Atlantic,  and 
Western. 


NORTHERN. 

Under  this  head  are  included  the  Knistinaux,  the  Algonkins 
and  Chippeways  or  Ojibways,  the  Ottawas  and  the  Potowota- 
mies  and  the  Mississagues. 

The  Knistinaux,  Klistinaux,  Kristinaux,  and,  by  abbreviation, 
Crees,  are  the  most  northern  tribe  of  the  family.  Bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  Athapascas,  they  now  extend,  in  conse- 
quence of  recent  conquests  already  alluded  to,  from  Hudson’s 
Bay  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  though  they  occupy  the  most 
westerly  part  of  that  territory,  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Sas- 
kachawan  in  common  with  the  Sioux  Assiniboins.  And  they 
have  also  spread  themselves  as  far  north  as  the  Lake  Athapas- 
ca.  On  the  south  they  are  bounded  by  the  Algonkins  and 
Chippeways  ; the  dividing  line  being  generally  that  which 
separates  the  rivers  that  fall  into  James’s  Bay  and  the  south- 
western parts  of  Hudson’s  Bay,  from  the  waters  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  of  the  Ottawa  River,  of  Lake  Superior,  and  of  the 
River  Winnipek.  Near  Hudson’s  Bay  they  are  generally 
called  Northern  Men.  According  to  Dr.  Robertson,  they  call 
themselves,  as  many  other  Indian  tribes  do,  “ Men,”  “ Eithin- 
yook ,”  or,  “ Iniriwuk ,”  prefixing  occasionally  the  name  of  their 


24  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROB. 

special  tribes.  Thus  the  true  name  of  the  Monsonies  or 
Swamp  Indians,  who  inhabit  Moose  River,  is  Mongsoa  Eithyn- 
yook,  or,  “ Moosedeer  men.”  The  same  author  says,  that 
the  name  Knistinaux  was  t originally  applied  to  the  tribe  of 
Lake  Winnipek,  called  Muskegons.  The  name  has  now  be- 
come generic,  and  the  variations  in  the  first  syllable  are  only 
an  instance  of  the  frequent  transmutations,  amongst  adjacent 
tribes  speaking  the  same  language,  of  the  letters  l,  r,  and  n. 
There  are,  however,  several  varieties  amongst  the  dialects  of 
the  Knistinaux  ; the  natural  result  of  an  unwritten  language, 
spoken,  through  a territory  so  extensive,  by  tribes  indepen- 
dent of  each  other  and  not  united  by  any  regular  alliance. 
Amongst  these  varieties  are  mentioned  the  Muskegons  and  the 
Monsonies,  of  whose  dialects  we  have  no  vocabularies.  That 
of  Harmon  is  most  to  be  relied  on.  His  wife,  as  he  informs  us, 
was  a native  of  the  Snare  nation,  living  near  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. Yet,  allowing  for  differences  in  orthography,  it  does  not 
differ  materially  from  that  of  Mackenzie’s,  which  must  have 
been  taken  from  the  Knistinaux  who  traded  between  Lakes 
Winnipek  and  Athapasca. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  whether  the  name  of  Algoumekins, 
or  Algonkins,  did  belong  to  any  particular  tribe,  or  was  used  as 
a generic  appellation.  At  the  first  settlement  of  Canada,  all 
the  St.  Lawrence  Indians  living  below  and  some  distance  above 
Quebec  were  designated  by  the  name  of  Montagnars  or  Mon- 
tagnes.  This  appellation  was  derived  from  a range  of  hills  or 
mountains,  which,  extending  northwesterly  from  Cape  Tour- 
mente  (five  miles  below  Quebec),  divides  the  rivers  that  fall 
above  that  Cape  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Ottowa,  and  Lake 
Superior,  from  those,  first  of  the  Saguenay,  and  afterwards  of 
Hudson’s  Bay.  The  chain,  or  rather  height  of  land,  intersect- 
ed by  many  small  lakes,  may  be  traced  according  to  Macken- 
zie, as  far  as  lake  Winnipek,  of  which  it  forms  the  eastern 
shore.  It  turns  thence  westwardly,  and  is  crossed  at  Por- 
tage Methye,  (latitude  56°  40',  longitude  109°,)  between  the 
sources  of  the  Missinipi  and  a branch  of  the  River  Athapasca, 
where  the  elevation  above  the  sea  has  been  roughly  estimated 
at  two  thousand  four  hundred  feet. 

The  great  trading-place  of  the  Montagnars  was  Tadoussac, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Saguenay,  where  several  inland  tribes 
and  others  living  lower  down  the  St.  Lawrence  and  speaking 
the  same  language,  met  annually.  In  the  most  ancient  speci- 
men we  have  of  the  Algonkin  tongue,  which  is  found  at 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  25 

the  end  of  Champlain’s  Voyages,  it  is  called  Montagnar.  The 
name,  from  the  identity  of  language,  was  soon  after  extended 
to  all  the  St.  Lawrence  Indians,  as  high  up  as  Montreal. 
Those  living  on  the  Ottawa  River  were  more  specially  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of  the  Algonkins  ; and  the  distinction 
between  those  two  dialects,  the  Algonkin  and  the  Montagnar, 
was  kept  up  for  some  time,  until  the  name  of  Algonkin  pre- 
vailed. 

According  to  Charlevoix,  the  Nipissings  were  the  true  Al- 
gonkins. They  are  called  in  the  First  Relations,  Nipissirin- 
iens,  and  lived  on  Lake  Nipissing,  at  the  head  of  the  Portage 
between  the  Ottawa  River  and  the  waters  of  Lake  Huron. 
This  is  confirmed  by  Mackenzie,  who  states,  that  the  inhabitants 
of  that  lake,  about  the  year  1790,  consisted  of  the  remainder  of 
a numerous  tribe  called  Nipissings  of  the  Algonkin  nation. 

The  difference,  however,  between  the  two  dialects  must  have 
been  very  trifling.  Father  Le  Jeune  acknowledges,  that  it 
was  with  great  difficulty  that  he  learnt  the  Montagnar,  and  that 
he  never  became  perfect  in  it.  But  in  one  of  his  letters,  he 
says,  “ I was  consoled  in  finding  that  the  Nipissiriniens,  the 
neighbours  of  the  Hurons,  understood  my  broken  Montagnes 
(mon  baragoin  Montagnes) . Whoever  should  know  perfectly 
the  language  of  the  Quebec  Indians  would,  I think,  be  under- 
stood by  all  the  nations  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Hurons.”* 
And  in  another  place  he  says  that  there  is  no  greater  difference 
between  those  two  dialects  than  between  those  spoken  in  dif- 
ferent provinces  of  France.  Notwithstanding  the  Father’s  mod- 
esty, it  appears  that  he  had  discovered  some  of  the  principal 
characteristics  of  the  language.  He  observes,  j- 

First,  that  different  verbs  are  used  according  to  the  subject 
of  the  action  ; for  instance,  that,  instead  of  the  verb  nimitisson 
which  signifies  “I  eat,”  another  verb  must  be  used  if  you  spe- 
cify the  thing  which  you  eat. 

Secondly,  that  there  is  a difference  in  the  verbs,  according 
as  the  object  is  animated  or  inanimate;  though  they  consider 
several  things  as  animated  which  have  no  soul,  such  as  tobacco, 
apples,  &c.  Thus,  says  he,  “ I see  a man,”  Niouapaman  iriniou  • 
but  if  I say,  “ I see  a stone,”  the  verb  is  Niouabaten.  More- 
over, if  the  object  is  in  the  plural  number,  the  verb  must  also 
be  put  in  the  plural  ; “ I see  men,”  Niouapamonet  iriniouet.f 

* Relations  of  New  France,  1636.  f Ibid.  1634. 

% “ I see  them  men.” 

VOL.  II.  4 


26 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


Thirdly,  that  the  verbs  are  also  altered  according  to  the 
person  to  whom  they  refer.  Thus  “ I use  a cap,”  Nitaouin  agou- 
niscouehon.  But  if  I mean  to  say  “ I use  his  cap,”  I must  in- 
stead of  nitaouin,  say  nitaouiouan.  And  all  these  verbs  have 
their  moods,  times,  and  persons  ; and  they  have  different  conju- 
gations, according  to  the  difference  of  their  terminations. 

Fourthly,  that  the  verbs  again  differ  if  the  action  is  done  by 
land  or  by  water.  Thus  “ I am  going  to  fetch  something  ; ” if 
it  is  by  land,  and  the  thing  is  inanimate,  you  must  say  ninaten  ; 
if  by  water  ninahen;  if  animated,  and  by  land,  ninatan  ; if 
animated,  and  by  water,  ninahouau;  &zc. 

Fifthly,  that  the  adjectives  vary  according  to  the  substan- 
tives with  which  they  are  joined  ; of  which  he  gives  several 
instances.  And  he  further  adds  that  all  those  adjectives  may 
be  conjugated.  Thus  “ The  stone  is  cold,”  Tabiscau  assini  ; “it 
was  cold,”  tabiscaban  ; “ it  will  be  cold,”  catatabischan. 

Sixthly,  that  they  have  an  infinite  number  of  words  signify- 
ing many  things  together,  which  have  no  apparent  affinity  with 
the  words  which  signify  those  several  things.  Thus  “ The  wind 
drives  the  snow;”  wind  is  routin,  snow  is  counc)  and  snow 
being,  according  to  the  Indians,  a noble  or  animated  thing,  the 
verb  “ drives,”  should  be  raTchineou.  Now,  in  order  to  say 
“The  wind  drives  the  snow,”  the  Indians,  instead  of  saying 
routin  raJchineou  coune,  say,  in  a single  word,  piouan.  Thus, 
again,  nisticatchi  means  “I  am  cold,”  and  nissitai  means  “ my 
feet  ” ; but,  in  order  to  say  that  my  feet  are  cold,  I must  use  the 
word  nitatagouasisin. 

Besides  the  abovementioned  specimens  of  the  Montagnar, 
and  some  others  interspersed  in  the  Annual  Relations  of  New 
France  by  the  Jesuits,  we  have  no  other  ancient  vocabulary  of 
the  Algonkin  but  that  of  La  Hontan.  The  fictitious  account 
of  his  pretended  travels  beyond  the  Mississippi  has  very  de- 
servedly destroyed  his  reputation  for  veracity.  Yet  it  would 
seem  that  he  ventured  to  impose  on  the  public,  only  with  re- 
spect to  countries  at  that  time  entirely  unknown,  and  that  his 
account  of  the  Canada  Indians  may  generally  be  relied  upon. 
There  cannot  be  any  doubt,  notwithstanding  the  observations  of 
Charlevoix,  of  the  correctness  of  his  vocabulary,  which  has 
been  transcribed  verbatim  by  Carver  and  by  John  Long,  and 
appears  to  have  been  the  only  one  used  for  a long  time  among 
the  Indian  traders. 

Among;  the  ALonkin  inhabitants  of  the  River  Ottawa  were 
the  Ottawas  themselves  (called  by  the  French  Outaouais ), 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS. 


27 


who  were  principally  settled  on  and  in  the  vicinity  of  an  island 
in  the  river,  where  they  exacted  a tribute  from  all  the  Indians 
and  canoes  going  to,  or  coining  from,  the  country  of  the  Hurons. 
It  is  observed  by  the  same  Father  Le  Jeune,  that,  although  the 
Hurons  were  ten  times  as  numerous,  they  submitted  to  that 
imposition  ; which  seems  to  prove  that  the  right  of  sovereignty 
over  the  river,  to  which  the  Ottawas  have  left  their  name,  was 
generally  recognised.  After  the  almost  total  destruction,  in 
the  year  1649,  of  the  Hurons  by  the  Firm  Nations,  the  Algon- 
kin  nations  of  the  Ottawa  River  generally  abandoned  their 
abodes  and  sought  refuge  in  different  quarters.  A part  of  the 
Ottawas  of  that  river,  accompanied  by  a portion  of  those  who 
lived  on  the  western  shores  of  Lake  Huron,  amounting  to 
about  one  thousand  souls,  and  by  five  hundred  Hurons,  after 
some  wanderings,  joined  their  kindred  tribes,  towards  the  south- 
western extremity  of  Lake  Superior.* 

They  were  followed  there  in  the  year  1665,  by  the  Mission- 
aries. Their  principal  missions  in  that  quarter  were  at  Cha- 
gouamigong  on  that  lake,  and  at  or  near  Green  Bay.  on  Lake 
Michigan.  They  enumerate  all  the  Indian  nations  in  that 
quarter,  excepting  only  the  Chippeways  and  the  Piankeshaws  ; 
and  an  uncertain  tribe,  the  Mascoutens,  is  added.  In  every 
other  respect  the  enumeration  corresponds  with  the  Indians 
now  known  to  us  there.  The  Sauks  and  Outagamies  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Miamis  and  Illinois  on  the  other,  are  spe- 
cially mentioned  as  speaking  Algonkin  dialects,  but  both  very 
different  from  the  pure  Algonkin.  This  last  designation  is 
dropped,  with  respect  to  all  the  Indians  south  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior, except  in  reference  to  language.  The  nation  south  of 
that  lake,  mentioned  as  speaking  pure  Algonkin,  is  uniformly 
called  Outaouais  ; and  the  Chippeways,  by  whom  they  were  sur- 
rounded at  Cbagouamigong,  are  never  once  mentioned  by  that 
name.f  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  Missionaries  considered 
the  Ottowas  and  the  Chippeways,  as  one  and  the  same  people. 

Of  the  Potowotamies  they  say,  that  they  spoke  Algonkin, 
but  more  difficult  to  understand  than  the  Ottawas.  As  late  as 
the  year  1671,  the  Potowotamies  were  settled  on  the  islands 
called  Noquet,  near  the  entrance  of  Green  Bay.  But,  forty 
years  later,  they  had  removed  to  the  southern  extremity  of 
Lake  Michigan,  where  we  found  them,  and  on  the  very  grounds 
(Chicago  and  River  St.  Joseph),  which  in  1670  were  occupied 


* Relations,  F.  Allouez,  A.  D.  1G66.  | Ibid.  A.  D.  1066-1671. 


28 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


by  the  Miamis.*  They  are  however  intimately  connected  by 
alliance  and  language,  not  with  these,  but  with  the  Chippeways 
and  Ottawas. 

About  the  year  1671,  the  Ottawas  of  Lake  Superior  re- 
moved to  the  vicinity  of  Michillimackinac,  and  finally  returned 
to  their  original  seats  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Huron.f  It 
is  well  known,  that  this  nation  occupied  till  very  lately  a great 
portion  of  the  Michigan  Peninsula,  north  and  west  of  the  Po- 
towotamies,  whilst  the  Chippeways,  who  are  much  more  numer- 
ous, are  situated  around  Lake  Superior,  extending  northwest- 
wardly to  Lake  Winnipek,  and  westvvardly  to  Red  River,  that 
empties  into  that  lake.  They  are  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
Knistinaux,  on  the  west  and  southwest  by  the  Sioux,  on  the 
south  and  southeast  by  the  Menoinenies  and  the  Ottawas.  We 
have  not  sufficient  data  to  ascertain  the  dividing  line  which, 
north  of  Lake  Superior,  separates  them  on  the  east  from  the 
residue  of  the  old  Algonkin  tribes.  Both  names,  Algonkin  and 
Chippeway,  have  become  generic,  and  are  often  indiscriminately 
used. 

When  the  Algonkin  tribes  of  the  River  Ottawa  were  dis- 
persed in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a portion 
sought  refuge  amongst  the  French,  and  appears  to  have  been 
incorporated  with  those  of  their  nation,  who  still  reside  in  sev- 
eral villages  of  Lower  Canada.  The  Nipissings,  and  some 
other  tribes,  fled  towards  Michillimackinac,  the  Falls  of  St. 
Mary,  and  the  northern  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  It  has  al- 
ready been  stated  that  the  Nipissings  had  returned  to  their  old 
seats.  What  became  of  the  others  is  uncertain. 

John  Long,  an  Indian  trader,  says  that  he  first  learnt  the  lan- 
guage amongst  the  Algonkins  of  the  two  mountains  above  Mon- 
treal, and  that  it  was  mixed  and  corrupt.  Of  this  he  might  not 
be  a proper  judge  ; but  his  statement  shows,  that  there  was  a 
difference  between  that  dialect,  and  that  spoken  by  the  Indians 
with  whom  he  afterwards  traded.  These,  whom  he  calls  Chip- 
eways,  reside  north  and  northeast  of  Lake  Superior  from  Lake 
Musquaway,  north  of  the  Grand  Portage,  eastwardly  to  the 
sources  of  Saguenay  and  to  the  waters  of  James’s  Bay.  His 
Chippeway  vocabulary  must  be  that  of  the  dialect  of  those  In- 
dians, and  differs  but  little  from  those,  either  of  the  Chippeways 

* They  sent  word  to  the  Miamis,  that  they  were  tired  of  living  on 
fish,  and  must  have  meat. 

f Relations,  A.  D.  1671,  and  Charlevoix,  A.  D,  1687. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  29 


proper,  or  of  the  old  Algonkins.  That  which  he  calls  the  AI- 
gonkin  vocabulary  is,  with  few  exceptions,  transcribed  from  La 
Hontan’s  or  Carver’s. 

Those  who  understand  the  language  may  judge,  from  the 
specimens  Long  gives  of  his  speeches  to  the  Indians,  whether 
he  was  well  acquainted  with  it.  A good  vocabulary  of  the 
modern  Algonkin,  as  spoken  in  the  villages  of  that  nation  in 
Lower  Canada,  is  wanted. 

We  have  but  scanty  specimens  of  the  Ottawa  and  Potowot- 
amie  dialects,  the  last  chiefly  from  Smith  Barton,  the  first  writ- 
ten, in  M.  Duponceau’s  presence,  by  M.  Hamelin,  an  educated 
half-breed  Ottowa.  In  the  appended  vocabulary  of  the  Cbip- 
peway  or  Ojibway  language,  the  words,  so  far  as  he  has  given 
them,  are  borrowed  from  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  who  has  lately 
thrown  much  light  on  its  structure  and  character.  It  is  hoped 
that,  enjoying  so  much  better  assistance  than  any  other  Ameri- 
can ever  did,  he  will  pursue  his  labors  and  favor  the  public 
with  the  result.  The  other  words  are  principally  taken  from 
the  copious  and  valuable  Vocabulary  of  Dr.  E.  James.  The 
residue  has  been  supplied  by  the  vocabularies  of  Dr.  Keating 
and  of  Sir  A.  Mackenzie.  That  of  Mackenzie  is  designated  by 
him  as  being  of  the  Algonkin  language.  Coming  from  Canada, 
he  gives  that  name  to  those  Indians,  from  the  Grand  Portage  to 
Lake  Winnipek,  whom  we  call  Cbippeways. 

Although  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Algonkins,  the  Chip- 
peways,  the  Ottawas,  and  the  Potowotamies,  speak  different  dia- 
lects, these  are  so  nearly  allied,  that  they  may  be  considered 
rather  as  dialects  of  the  same,  than  as  distinct  languages.  The 
same  observation  applies,  though  with  less  force,  to  the  dialect 
of  the  Knistinaux,  between  which  and  that  of  the  Algonkins 
and  Chippeways,  the  several  vocabularies,  particularly  those  of 
Mackenzie,  exhibit  a close  affinity.  The  Northern  Algonkin 
tribes  enumerated  under  this  head,  maybe  said  to  form,  in  ref- 
erence to  language,  but  one  subdivision  ; the  most  numerous 
and  probably  the  original  stock  of  all  the  other  kindred  bran- 
ches of  the  same  family.* 

# According  to  an  estimate  of  the  War  Department,  the  Chippeways, 
Ottawas,  and  Potowotamies  would  amount  to  near  twenty-two  thou- 
sand. It  is  probable  that  those  living  in  Canada  are  partly  included. 
The  Chippeways  and  Ottowas  within  the  United  States  amount,  by  Mr. 
Schoolcraft’s  official  report,  to  fourteen  thousand.  Adding  some  Ot- 
towas not  included  and  the  Potowotamies,  they  may  together  be  esti- 
mated at  about  nineteen  thousand.  Including  the  Knistinaux,  and  the 


30 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


Although  it  may  be  presumed,  that  the  Mississagues  did  not, 
in  that  respect,  differ  materially  from  the  other  northern  Algon- 
kins  (a  question  which  Smith  Barton’s  short  vocabulary  does 
not  enable  us  absolutely  to  decide),  they  appear  to  have,  prob- 
ably on  account  of  their  geographical  position,  pursued  a dif- 
ferent policy,  and  separated  their  cause  from  that  of  their  kin- 
dred tribes.  They  were  settled  south  of  the  River  Ottawa, 
on  the  banks  of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  and  must  have  been 
either  in  alliance  with  the  Five  Nations,  or  permitted  to  remain 
neutral.  We  are  informed  by  Charlevoix,  that,  in  the  year 
1721,  they  had  still  villages  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario, 
near  Niagara,  and  near  Detroit,  and  another  situated  between 
the  two  first  on  Lake  Ontario.  Twenty-five  years  later,  their 
deputies  attended  a treaty  held  at  Albany,  between  the  Gover- 
nor of  New  York  and  the  Six  Nations.  These,  whether  from 
a wish  to  enhance  their  own  importance,  or  because  they  be- 
gan to  feel  the  want  of  allies,  announced  to  the  British  that 
they  had  “ taken  in  the  Mississagues  for  the  Seventh  Nation,” 
of  their  confederacy.* *  That  intended  or  pretended  adoption 
wTas  not  however  carried  into  effect.  The  tribe  still  subsists  in 
Canada  ; aud  some  amongst  them  are  said  to  have  lately  wan- 
dered into  the  Eastern  States. 

Northeastern. 

This  division  embraces  the  Algonkins  of  Labrador,  the 
Micmacs,  the  Etchemins,  and  the  Abenakis. 

It  is  probable,  though  not  fully  ascertained,  that  the  Algon- 
kin  or  Montagnar  language,  with  some  varieties  in  the  dialects, 
extended  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence. 
No  account  has  been  published  of  the  tribes  of  that  family 
which  inhabit  the  interior  parts  of  Labrador.  But  vocabula- 
ries have  been  published,  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Collec- 
tions of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  of  two  kindred 


Chippeways  and  Algonkins  within  the  British  possessions,  I should  think 
that  the  whole  of  this  northern  branch  of  the  Algonkin-Lenape  fam- 
ily vannot  be  less  than  thirty-five  to  forty  thousand  souls.  All  the 
other  branches  of  the  family  do  not  together  exceed  twenty-five 
thousand. 

* Golden,  Five  Nations,  Treaty  of  1746.  The  Tuscaroras  had  been 
previously  adopted  as  the  Sixth  Nation.  The  Mississagues  appear 
notwithstanding  to  have  taken  part  against  the  British  during  the 
seven  years’  war.  (1  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vol.  x.  page  121.) 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  3£ 

dialects,  belonging  indeed  to  the  same  stock,  but  quite  distinct 
from  the  Algonkin.  They  are  called  respectively  Skoffies  anc* 
Sheshatapoosh  or  Mountainees.  The  origin  of  the  last  name 
is  not  known  ; but  the  language  is  not  that  of  the  Tadoussae 
Montagnars.  The  vocabularies  of  both  were  taken  from  a na- 
tive named  Gabriel ; and  extracts  w'ill  be  found  in  the  annexed 
comparative  vocabularies. 

The  tribe  of  the  Nova  Scotia  Indians,  near  Annapolis  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  with  which  the  French  first  became  acquaint- 
ed, was  called  Souriquois  ; and  a vocabulary  of  their  language 
has  been  preserved  by  Lescarbot.  They  are  now  well  known 
by  the  name  of  Micmacs,  and  inhabited  the  peninsula  of  Nova 
Scotia,  Cape  Breton,  several  other  islands  within  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence,  and  all  the  rivers  emptying  from  the  west  into 
that  Gulf,  south  of  Gaspe.  The  words  in  the  comparative 
vocabulary  are  taken  principally  from  the  manuscript  of  Father 
Maynard,  Missionary  at  Miramichi  during  and  at  the  end  of  the 
seven  years’  war.  It  was  obtained  in  Canada,  by  the  late 
Enoch  Lincoln,  Governor  of  Maine,  who  permitted  me  to 
take  copious  extracts  ; and  the  original  has  been  placed  in  my 
hands  by  his  brother.  The  words  wanted  have  been  chiefly 
supplied  from  another  manuscript  vocabulary  in  M.  Dupon- 
ceau’s  collection,  taken  by  Mr.  Walter  Bromley,  a resident  of 
Nova  Scotia. 

When  Father  Maynard  made  his  submission  to  the  British 
in  1760,  he  stated  the  number  of  the  Micmacs  to  be  three 
thousand  souls.# 

The  French  adopted  the  names  given  by  the  Souriquois  to  the 
neighbouring  Indian  tribes.  The  Etchemins,  or  “ Canoemen,” 
embraced  the  tribes  of  the  St.  John’s  River,  called  Ouygoudy 
by  Champlain,  and  of  Passamaquoddy  Bay;  and  the  name  ex- 
tended thence  westwardly  along  the  seashore  as  far  at  least  as 
Mount  Desert  Island.  The  Island  of  St.  Croix,  where  De 
Monts  made  a temporary  settlement,  has  been  recognised  to  be 
that  now  called  Boon  Island,  which  lies  near  the  entrance  of 
the  Schoodick  River  above  St.  Andrew’s.  The  river  itself  is 
always  called  River  of  the  Etchemins  by  Champlain,  who  ac- 
companied De  Monts,  and  explored,  in  the  year  1605,  the  sea- 
coast  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  Martha’s  Vineyard. 

The  Indians  west  of  Kennebec  River,  beginning  at  Choua- 
coet,  and  thence  westwardly  as  far  as  Cape  Cod,  were  called 


1 Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vol.  x.  p.  115.  He  is  there  called  Manach . 


32 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES. 


[iNTROD. 


Almouchiquois  by  the  Souriquois.  Chouacoet  (probably  Saco) 
is  noticed  by  Champlain  as  being  the  first  place  along  the  sea- 
shore where  there  was  any  cultivation.  The  Indians  ol  the  mouth 
of  the  Kennebec  planted  nothing,  and  informed  him,  that  those 
who  cultivated  maize  lived  lar  inland  or  up  the  river.  These 
inland  cultivating  Indians  were  the  well-known  Abenakis,  con- 
sisting of  several  tribes,  the  principal  of  which  were  the  Penob- 
scot, the  Norridgewock,  and  the  Ameriscoggins.  And  it  is  not 
improbable  that  the  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  both  rivers,  though 
confounded  by  Champlain  with  the  Etchemins,  belonged  to 
the  same  nation. 

The  two  Etchemin  tribes,  viz.  the  Passamaquoddies  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  St.  John  Indians  in  New  Brunswick, 
speaking,  both  the  same  language,  are  not  yet  extinct.  The 
vocabulary  of  the  Passamaquoddies  by  Mr.  Kellogg  was  ob- 
tained from  the  War  Department. 

The  vocabulary  of  the  Abenakis  is  extracted  from  the  valua- 
ble manuscript  of  Father  Rasle,  (the  Norridgewock  Missionary,) 
lately  published,  at  Boston,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Pickering, 
by  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  The 
Penobscot  tribe,  consisting  of  about  three  hundred  souls, 
still  exists  on  the  river  of  that  name.  The  vocabulary 
of  their  language  is  extracted  from  two  manuscripts,  one 
taken  by  General  Treat  and  obtained  from  Governor  E.  Lin- 
coln, the  other  in  M.  Duponceau’s  collection,  taken  by  Mr.  R. 
Gardiner  of  Maine.  The  dialects  of  those  three  eastern  na- 
tions, the  Micmacs,  the  Etchemins,  and  the  Abenakis,  have 
great  affinities  with  each  other,  but,  though  evidently  belonging 
to  the  same  stock,  differ  widely  from  the  Algonkin  language. 

They  were  all  early  converted  by  the  Jesuits,  remained  firmly 
attached  to  the  French,  and,  till  the  conquest  of  Canada,  were 
in  an  almost  perpetual  state  of  hostility  with  the  British  colonists. 
In  the  year  1754,  all  the  Abenakis,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Penobscots,  withdrew  to  Canada ; and  that  tribe  was  consider- 
ed by  the  others  as  deserters  from  the  common  cause.  They, 
as  well  as  the  Passamaquody  and  St.  John  Indians,  remained 
neuter  during  the  war  of  Independence. 

The  dividing  line  between  the  Abenakis  and  the  New  Eng- 
land Indians,  which  is  also  that  of  language,  was  at  some  place 
between  the  Kennebec  and  the  River  Piscataqua.  Governor 
Sullivan  placed  it  at  the  River  Saco  ; and  this  is  corroborated 
by  the  mention  made  by  the  French  writers  of  a tribe  called 
Sokokies,  represented  as  being  adjacent  to  New  England  and 
to  the  Abenakis,  originally  in  alliance  with  the  Iroquois,  but 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  33 


which  appears  to  have  been  converted  by  the  Jesuits,  and  to 
have  ultimately  withdrawn  to  Canada.* 

Eastern  or  Atlantic. 

Under  this  head  will  be  included  the  New  England  Indians, 
meaning  thereby  those  between  the  Abenakis  and  Hudson 
River  ; the  Long  Island  Indians  ; the  Delaware  and  Minsi  of 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  ; the  Nanticockes  of  the  eastern 
shore  of  Maryland  ; the  Susquehannocks  ; the  Powhatans  of 
Virginia ; and  the  Pamlicos  of  North  Carolina. 

Gookin,  who  wrote  in  1674,  enumerates  as  the  five  principal 
nations  of  New  England,  1.  The  Pequods,  who  may  be  con- 
sidered as  making  but  one  people  with  the  Mohegans,  and  who 
occupied  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  of  Connecticut;  2.  The 
Narragansets  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  ; 3.  The  Pawkun- 
nawkuts  or  Wampanoags,  chiefly  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Plymouth  Colony  ; 3.  The  Massachusetts,  in  the  Bay  of  that 
name  and  the  adjacent  parts.  5.  The  Pawtuckets,  north  and 
northeast  of  the  Massachusetts.  Under  the  designation  of 
Pawtuckets  he  includes  the  Penacooks  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  probably  all  the  more  eastern  tribes  as  far  as  the  Abena- 
kis, or  Tarrateens,  as  they  seem  to  have  been  called  by  the 
New  England  Indians.  The  Niptnucks  are  mentioned  as  living 
north  of  the  Mohegans,  and  west  of  the  Massachusetts,  occu- 
pying the  central  parts  of  that  Slate  as  far  west  as  the  Connec- 
ticut River,  and  acknowledging,  to  a certain  extent,  the  suprema- 
cy of  the  Massachusetts,  of  the  Narrangansets,  or  of  the 
Mohegans.  Those  several  nations  appear,  however,  to  have 
been  divided  into  a number  of  tribes,  each  having  its  own  Sa- 
chem, and  in  a great  degree  independent  of  each  other. 

The  great  similarity  if  not  the  identity  of  the  languages  from 
the  Connecticut  River  eastwardly  to  the  Piscataqua,  seems  to  be 
admitted  by  all  the  early  writers.  Gookin  states  that  the  New 
England  Indians,  especially  upon  the  seacoasts,  use  the  same 
sort  of  speech  and  language,  only  with  some  difference  in  the 
expressions,  as  they  differ  in  several  counties  in  England,  yet 
so  as  they  can  well  understand  each  other.  Roger  Williams, 
speaking  of  his  Key,  as  he  calls  his  vocabulary,  says  that  “ he 
has  entered  into  the  secrets  of  those  countries  wherever 


* Relations,  and  Charlevoix,  A.  D.  1646,  &c. 
5 


VOL.  II. 


34 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


English  dwelt  about  two  hundred  miles  between  the  French 
and  Dutch  plantations  ; and  that  though  their  dialects  do  ex- 
ceedingly differ  within  the  said  two  hundred  miles,  yet  not  so, 
but  within  that  compass  a man  by  this  help  may  converse  with 
thousands  of  natives  all  over  the  country.”  Governor  Hutch- 
inson also  states,  that  from  Piscataqua  to  Connecticut  River  the 
different  tribes  could  converse  tolerably  together.* 

The  Pequods  and  Mohegans  claimed  some  authority  over  the 
Indians  of  the  Connecticut  River.  But  those,  extending  thence 
vvestwardly  to  the  Hudson  River,  appear  to  have  been  divided 
into  small  and  independent  tribes,  united,  since  they  were 
known  to  the  Europeans  by  no  common  government.  Those 
within  Connecticut  were  sometimes  called  “ the  Seven  Tribes.” 
With  respect  to  those  along  the  Hudson  and  within  the  juris- 
diction of  New  York,  De  Laet,  who  in  Dutch  affairs  is  an  origi- 
nal authority,  places  the  Manhattans  and  the  Pacbamins  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  river  and  below  the  Highlands;  the  War- 
oanekins  on  the  eastern,  and  the  Waranancongyns  on  the  west- 
ern bank,  both  in  the  vicinity  of  Esopus,  which  he  mentions 
by  that  name  ; and  above  these,  extending  to  Albany,  the 
Manhikans  on  the  eastern  bank,  and  opposite  to  them  the 
Mackwaes,  their  mortal  enemies.  “ Maquas,”  was  the  name 
given  by  the  Atlantic-Lenape  nations  to  the  Mohawks.  In 
the  Manhikans  we  recognise  the  Mohicans,  Mohikanders,  or 
River  Indians.  The  Waroanekins  and  Waranancongyns  are 
clearly  the  people  since  known  to  us  by  the  name  of 
Wappings  or  Wappingers,  who  have  left  their  name  to  a 
river  in  Dutchess  County,  and  who  extended  across  the  Hud- 
son, not  only  to  Esopus,  but  also  some  distance  below  the 
Highlands,  where  they  were  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Min- 
si  f But  they  are  at  a later  date  embraced  under  the  generic 
appellation  of  Mohikanders, J which  seems  to  indicate  a commu- 
nity of  language.  And  the  identity  of  name,  between  the 
M ohikans  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohegans  of  East  Connec- 
ticut, induces  the  belief  that  all  those  tribes  belonged  to  the  same 
stock.  We  have  however  no  ancient  vocabularies  of  their  re- 
spective languages,  and  must  recur  to  those  of  the  Stockbridge 
dialect. 


* Hist,  of  Mass.  Vol.  I.  p.  479. 

f See  treaty  of  Easton,  of  1758,  in  which  the  Wappings  of  Esopus 
are  mentioned,  and  those  south  of  the  Highlands  jointly  with  the 
Minsi,  execute  a deed  of  release  for  lands  in  New  Jersey, 
f See  treaty  of  Albany  of  1746,  abovementioned. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  35 


The  Stockbridge  Indians,  were  originally  a part  of  the  Hou- 
satannuck  Tribe,  to  whom  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
granted  or  secured  a township  in  the  year  1736.*  Their  num- 
ber was  increased  by  Wappingers  and  Mohikanders,  and  per- 
haps also  by  Indians  belonging  to  several  other  tribes,  both  of 
New  England  and  New  York.  Since  their  removal  to  New 
Stockbridge  and  Brotherton,  in  the  western  parts  of  New  York, 
they  have  been  joined  by  Mohegans  and  other  Indians  from 
East  Connecticut  and  even  from  Rhode  Island  and  Long  Is- 
land ; and  the  residue  of  the  Seven  Tribes  of  Connecticut  is  also 
mentioned,  as  being  settled  in  the  year  1791  at  Brotherton. f 
They  are  called  Mohicans,  or  Mohekanoks  and  appear  to  speak 
but  one  dialect.  All  our  information  respecting  that  language 
is  derived  from  Old  or  New  Stockbridge,  or  from  Canada, 
where  some  Indians  of  that  family  have  also  migrated. 

Jonathan  Edwards,  a divine  and  a scholar,  was  brought  up  at 
Old  Stockbridge,  and,  whilst  a child,  acquired  the  knowledge  of 
the  language  of  the  Indians  of  that  place.  “ It  had  become 
more  familiar  to  him  than  his  mother  tongue,  and  he  had  in  a 
great  measure  retained  his  skill,”  in  that  respect,  when  he 
published,  in  1788,  his  valuable  observations  on  the  language  of 
the  “ Muhhekanew  Indians.” 

He  states  that  “ the  language  which  is  the  subject  of 
his  observations  is  that  of  the  Muhhekanew  or  Stockbridge 
Indians.  They,  as  well  as  the  tribe  in  New  London  (the  an- 
cient Pequods  or  Mohegans),  are  by  the  Anglo-Americans 
called  Mohegans,  which  is  a corruption  of  Muhhekanew. 

“ This  language  is  spoken  by  all  the  Indians  throughout  New 
England.  Every  tribe,  as  that  of  Stockbridge,  that  of  Far- 
mington, that  of  New  London,  has  a different  dialect  ; but 
the  language  is  radically  the  same.  Mr.  Eliot’s  translation  of 
the  Bible  is  in  a particular  dialect  of  this  language.  The  dia- 
lect followed  in  these  observations  is  that  of  Stockbridge.” 

Mr.  Edwards’s  vocabulary  is  unfortunately  very  short.  The 
defect  is  partly  supplied  -by  two  others  ; one  obtained  in  1804, 
by  the  Rev.  William  Jenks,  from  John  Konkaput,  a New 
Stockbridge  Indian  ; the  other  in  M.  Duponceau’s  collection 
taken  by  Mr.  Heckewelder  in  Canada  from  a Mohican  chief. 
The  appended  vocabulary  of  that  language  has  been  extracted 


* Holmes’s  Annals. 

t 1 Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vd.  IX.  p.  90,  and  Vol.  V.  pp.  12-32. 


36 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


from  those  three  sources,  with  the  addition  of  some  words 
supplied  by  the  mutilated  remnant  of  a comparative  vocabula- 
ry compiled  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  the  library  of  the  Philosophi- 
cal Society  of  Philadelphia.  The  vocabulary  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Indians  is  taken  from  Eliot’s  Grammar,  (including  the 
words  extracted  by  M.  Du  ponceau  from  Elliot’s  translation  of 
the  Bible,)  and  from  Josiah  Cotton’s  valuable  vocabulary.  A 
specimen  from  Wood’s  “Prospect  of  New  England”  has  been 
added.  The  words  not  found  in  Roger  Williams’s  Key  of  the 
Narraganset  Language,  have  been  supplied  from  a recent  vo- 
cabulary, taken  by  General  Treat,  and  communicated  by  the 
late  Enoch  Lincoln.  There  is  no  doubt  respecting  the  great 
similarity  of  those  three  dialects  ; and  that  the  Indians  from 
Saco  River  to  the  Hudson,  spoke,  though  with  many  varieties, 
what  may  be  considered  as  the  same  language,  and  one  of  the 
most  extensively  spoken  amongst  those  of  the  Algonkin- 
Lenape  Family. 

There  may  have  been  some  exaggeration  in  the  accounts  of 
the  Indian  population  of  New  England.  In  proportion  as  they 
are  separated  from  us  by  time  or  distance,  the  Indians  are  uni- 
formly represented  as  more  numerous  than  they  appear  when 
better  known.  Gookin,  who  wrote  in  1674,  states  that  the 
Pequods  were  said  to  have  been  able  in  former  times  to  raise  four 
thousand  warriors,  reduced  in  his  time  to  three  hundred  men. 
These  had  indeed  been  conquered  and  partly  destroyed  or  dis- 
persed in  the  war  of  1637.  But,  according  to  the  accounts  of  that 
war,  the  number  of  their  warriors  could  not  at  that  time  have 
amounted  to  one  thousand.*  The  Narragansets,  who  were 
reckoned  in  former  times,  as  ancient  Indians  said,  to  amount  to 
five  thousand  warriors,  did  not  in  his  time  amount  to  one 
thousand.  As  the  only  wars  in  which  they  had  been  engaged 
before  the  year  1674,  from  the  first  European  settlement  in 
New  England,  were  the  usual  ones  with  other  Indians,  such  a 
great  diminution  within  that  period  appears  highly  improbable. 
With  respect  to  the  other  three  great  nations,  to  wit,  the  Wam- 
panoags,  the  Massachusetts,  and  the  Pawtuckets,  Gookin  esti- 
mates their  former  number  to  have  been  in  the  aggregate  nine 
thousand  warriors.  He  states  the  population  of  the  two  last 
in  his  own  time,  at  five  hundred  and  fifty  men,  besides  women 


* Seven  hundred,  on  the  arrival  of  the  British.  Holmes’s  Memoir, 
1 Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vol.  IX.  pp.  75-99. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  37 


and  children.  This  great  diminution,  he  and  all  the  other 
ancient  writers  ascribed  to  a most  fatal  epidemical  sickness, 
which,  a few  years  before  the  first  arrival  of  the  English,  had 
made  dreadful  ravages  amongst  those  two  nations  and  the 
Wampanoags. 

But,  after  making  every  reasonable  allowance  for  exaggera- 
tions derived  from  Indian  reports,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  from 
the  concurrent  accounts  of  contemporary  writers,  that  the  Indian 
population,  principally  along  the  seacoast  between  the  Old 
Plymouth  Colony  and  the  Hudson  River,  was  much  greater  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  territory  than  was  found  anywhere 
else  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  or,  with  the  exception  per- 
haps of  the  Hurons,  in  the  interior  parts  of  the  United  States. 
This  opinion  is  corroborated  by  the  enumerations  subsequent  to 
Philip’s  War,  after  the  greater  part  of  the  hostile  Indians  had 
removed  to  Canada  or  its  vicinity.  In  an  account  laid  before 
the  Assembly  of  Connecticut  in  1680,  the  warriors  of  the  sev- 
eral tribes  in  the  State  are  reckoned  at  five  hundred.*  In  1698, 
the  converted  Indians  in  Massachusetts  were  computed  to 
amount  to  nearly  three  thousand  souls.f  In  1774,  by  an  actual 
census  there  were  still  thirteen  hundred  and  sixty-three  Indians 
in  Connecticut,  and  fourteen  hundred  and  eighty-two  in  Rhode 
Island. £ Those  several  numbers  greatly  exceed  those  found 
elsewhere,  under  similar  circumstances,  so  long  after  the  date 
of  the  first  European  settlements.  I think  that  the  Indian 
population,  within  the  present  boundaries  of  the  States  of  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut, 
must  have  been  from  thirty  to  forty  thousand  souls,  before  the 
epidemic  disease  which  preceded  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims. 

For  this  greater  accumulated  population,  two  causes  may  be 
assigned.  A greater  and  more  uniform  supply  of  food  is  af- 
forded by  fisheries  than  by  hunting  ; and  we  find  accordingly, 
that  the  Narragansets  of  Rhode  Island  were,  in  proportion  to 
their  territory,  the  most  populous  tribe  of  New  England.  It 
appears  also  probable,  that  the  Indians  along  the  seacoast  had 
been  driven  away  from  the  interior  and  compelled  to  concen- 
trate themselves,  in  order  to  be  able  to  resist  the  attacks  of  the 
more  warlike  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations.  Even  near  the 
seashore,  from  the  Piscataqua  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Hudson, 


* Holmes’s  Report.  f 1 Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vol.  X.  p.  129. 

t Ibid.  Vol.  X.  pp.  117-119. 


38 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


the  New  England  Indians  were  perpetually  harassed  by  the  at- 
tacks of  the  Maquas.  They  were,  Gookin  says,  in  time  of 
war,  so  great  a terror  to  all  the  Indians  before  named,  that  the 
appearance  of  four  or  five  Maquas  in  the  woods  would  frighten 
them  from  their  habitations  and  induce  many  of  them  to  get 
together  in  forts.  Wood  and  other  contemporary  writers  con- 
firm this  account ; and  the  Mohawks  were  wont,  in  Con- 
necticut, to  pursue  the  native  Indians  and  kill  them  even  in  the 
houses  of  the  English  settlers.* 

We  find  accordingly  the  population  to  have  been  chiefly  con- 
centrated along  the  seashore  and  the  banks  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River  below  its  falls.  That  of  the  Nipmuck  and  generally 
of  the  inland  country,  north  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  was 
much  less  in  proportion  to  the  territory  ; and  there  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have'  been  any  tribes  of  any  consequence  in  the  nor- 
thern parts  of  New  Hampshire,  or  in  the  State  of  Vermont. 

The  Indians  east  of  the  Connecticut  River  never  were,  how- 
ever, actually  subjugated  by  the  Five  Nations.  In  the  year 
1669,  the  Indians  of  Massachusetts  carried  on  even  offensive  op- 
erations against  the  Maquas,  marched  with  about  six  hundred 
men  into  the  Mohawk  country,  and  attacked  one  of  their  forts. 
They  were  repulsed  with  considerable  loss  ; but,  in  1671,  peace 
was  made  between  them,  through  the  interference  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  Dutch  at  Albany  ; and  the  subsequent  alliance  be- 
tween the  Five  Nations  and  the  British,  after  they  had  become 
permanently  possessed  of  New  York,  appears  to  have  pre- 
served the  New  England  Indians  from  further  attacks. 

The  first  emigrants  to  New  England  were  kindly  received 
by  the  Indians ; and  their  progress  was  facilitated  by  the  ca- 
lamitous disease  which  had  recently  swept  off  great  numbers  of 
the  natives,  in  the  quarter  where  the  first  settlements  were 
made.  The  peace  was  disturbed  by  the  colonization  of  Con- 
necticut River.  The  native  chiefs  had  been  driven  away  by 
Sassacus,  Sachem  of  the  Pequods.  From  them  the  Massachu- 
setts emigrants  purchased  the  lands,  and  commenced  the  settle- 
ment in  the  year  1635.  Sassacus  immediately  committed  hos- 
tilities. The  Pequod  war,  as  it  is  called,  terminated  (1637)  in 
the  total  subjugation  of  the  Pequods,  and  was  followed  by  for- 
ty years  of  comparative  peace.  The  principal  event  during 
that  period  was  a war  between  Uncas,  Sachem  of  the  Mohe- 


8 Trumbull,  passim. 


SECT.  II.]  ALG0NK1N-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  39 


gans  and  of  the  conquered  Pequods,  who  appears  to  have  been 
a constant  though  subordinate  ally  of  the  British,  and  Mian- 
tonimo,  Sachem  of  the  Narragansets,  who  had  indeed  assisted 
them  against  the  Pequods,  but  seems  to  have  afterwards  enter- 
tained hostile  designs  against  them.  He  brought  nine  hundred 
tvarriors  into  the  field  against  Uncas,  who  could  oppose  him 
with  only  five  hundred.  Miantonimo  was  nevertheless  defeated, 
made  prisoner  and  delivered  by  Uncas  to  the  English.  After 
due  deliberation,  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies 
oi  New  England  determined,  that  he  might  be  justly,  and  ought 
to  be,  put  to  death,  but  that  this  should  be  done  out  of  the 
English  jurisdiction,  and  without  any  act  of  cruelty.  He  was 
accordingly  delivered  again  to  Uncas  and  killed.  The  act  at 
this  day  appears  unjustifiable.  The  English  had  not  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  contest.  They  might  have  refused  to  receive 
him  from  Uncas.  But,  this  having  been  done,  he  was  under 
their  protection,  and,  however  dangerous  to  them,  ought  to 
have  been  either  released  altogether,  or  kept  a prisoner. 

The  Narragansets  from  that  time  kept  the  colonies  in  a state 
of  perpetual  uneasiness.  Yet  the  war  which  broke  out  in  1675, 
commonly  called  King  Philip’s  war,  can  hardly  be  ascribed  to 
this  or  to  any  other  particular  circumstance,  and  appears  to 
have  been  the  unavoidable  result  of  the  relative  situation  in 
which  the  Indians  and  the  whites  were  placed.  Collisions  had 
during  the  preceding  period  often  occurred  ; but  no  actual  hos- 
tilities of  any  importance  had  taken  place;  and  Massachusetts 
particularly,  though  exposed  to  obloquy  on  that  account,  always 
interposed  to  prevent  a war.  If  the  Indians  were  not  always 
kindly,  at  least  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  were  in  general  un- 
justly, treated.  With  the  exception  of  the  conquered  Pequods, 
no  lands  were  ever  forcibly  taken  from  them.  They  were  all 
gradually  purchased  from  those  Sachems  respectively  in  whose 
possession  they  were.  But  there,  as  everywhere  else,  the  In- 
dians, after  a certain  length  of  time,  found  that,  in  selling  their 
lands  they  had  lost  their  usual  means  of  subsistence,  that  they 
were  daily  diminishing,  that  the  gradual  progress  of  the  whites 
was  irresistible  ; and,  as  a last  effort,  though  too  late,  they  at- 
tempted to  get  rid  of  the  intruders.  The  history  of  the  Indians 
in  the  other  British  colonies  is  everywhere  substantially  the 
same.  The  massacre  of  the  whites  in  Virginia,  in  the  years 
1622  and  1644,  the  Tuscarora  war  of  North  Carolina  in  1712, 
that  with  the  Yemassees  of  South  Carolina  in  1715,  were 


40 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


natural  results  flowing  from  the  same  cause.  And  in  the  year 
1755,  after  a peace  of  seventy  years,  notwithstanding  all  the 
efforts  made  to  avert  it,  the  storm  burst  even  in  Pennsylvania. 

Metacom,  or  King  Philip,  as  he  is  generally  called,  was  Sa- 
chem of  the  Wampanoags,  and  son  of  Massassoit,  the  first  and 
faithful  friend  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  New  Plymouth  Colony. 
His  most  powerful  and  active  ally  was  Conanchet,  son  of  Mian- 
tonimo,  and  principal  Sachem  of  the  Narragansets.  A portion 
of  the  Indians  of  that  nation,  under  another  chief,  named 
Ninigret,  the  Mobegans  and  the  Pequods,  fought  on  the  Eng- 
lish side.  The  other  tribes  of  Connecticut,  with  the  exception 
of  some  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  colony,  appear  to  have 
remained  neutral.  The  converted  Indians  of  Massachusetts 
were  friendly.  All  the  other  New  England  Indians,  assisted 
by  the  Abenaki  tribes,  joined  in  the  war.  Its  events  are  well 
known,  and  that,  after  a most  bloody  contest  of  two  years, 
during  which  the  two  colonies  of  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth 
experienced  great  losses,  it  terminated  in  the  complete  de- 
struction or  dispersion  of  the  hostile  Indians.  Philip,  after  the 
most  desperate  efforts,  was  killed  in  the  field  of  battle.  Canon- 
chet  shared  the  fate  of  his  father,  having  been,  like  him,  taken 
prisoner  in  an  engagement,  and  afterwards  shot.  A small  number 
only  of  the  Indians  who  had  taken  arms,  accepted  terms  of  sub- 
mission. The  greater  part  of  the  survivors  joined  the  eastern 
tribes  or  those  of  Canada.  Some  took  refuge  amongst  the  Mo- 
hicans  of  Hudson  River.  Amongst  those,  who  did  not  at  that  time 
join  the  Indians  in  the  French  interest,  were  those  afterwards 
known  by  the  name  of  Shotacooks,  from  the  place  of  their  new 
residence  on  the  Hudson,  some  distance  above  Albany.  They, 
however,  at  a subsequent  epoch,  became  hostile,  and  removed 
to  Canada  at  the  commencement  of  the  seven  years’  war. 

From  the  termination  of  Philip’s  war,  till  the  conquest  of 
Canada,  the  eastern  and  northern  frontiers  of  New  England 
continued  exposed  to  the  predatory  and  desolating  attacks  of  the 
Eastern  and  Canada  Indians.  But  they  had  no  longer  any  in- 
ternal enemies  to  combat.  It  appears,  from  the  statements 
already  made,  that  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  must,  about  the  year 
1680,  have  remained  within  the  settled  parts  of  those  colonies. 
Thev  have  ever  since  been  perfectly  peaceable,  have  had  lands 
reserved  for  them,  and  have  been  treated  kindly  and  protected  by 
the  Colonial  and  State  Governments.  They  are  said  to  amount 
now  to  only  a few  hundred  in  all  the  four  States.  The  language, 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  41 

with  the  exception  of  the  Narraganset,  is  nearly  extinct. 
Many  had,  it  is  true,  removed  from  time  to  time  to  the  west- 
ward. But  the  great  diminution  and  approaching  extinction 
are  due  to  the  same  causes,  which  have  operated  everywhere 
else,  and  to  which  we  may  hereafter  advert. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Manhattans  and  the  other  tribes, 
which  may  have  been  seated  below  the  Highlands,  on  the  east- 
tern  bank  of  the  Hudson,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York, 
were  of  the  same  stock  with  their  eastern  neighbours  on  the 
main  along  the  Long  Island  Sound,  and  may  also  be  included 
under  the  general  appellation  of  Mohicans.  Of  this,  however, 
we  have  no  direct  proof,  as  no  vestige  of  their  language  remains. 
The  Dutch  purchased  from  them  the  Manhattan  Island,  where 
they  erected  a fort  about  the  year  1620,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  New  Amsterdam,  now  New  York.*  But  they  appear 
to  have  been  in  a state  of  perpetual  hostility  with  those 
Indians. 

De  Laet,  who  wrote  in  1624,  and  mentions  the  purchase,  says 
that  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  was,  from  its  mouth,  inhabited 
by  “ the  Manathanes,  a cruel  nation  at  war  with  us.”  He  also 
mentions  the  Delawares  or  Minsi,  living  on  the  opposite  shore, 
under  the  names  of  Sanhikans  and  Mahkentiwomi,  as  a more 
humane  and  friendly  nation.  It  was  there  accordingly  that 
they  made  their  first  settlement  in  that  quarter,  about  the  year 
16l0.f 

About  the  year  1643,  the  Dutch  appear  to  have  been  re- 
duced to  great  distress  by  the  Manhattans  and  the  Long  Island 
Indians.  They  applied  in  vain  for  assistance  to  the  Colony  of 
New  Haven ; but  they  engaged  in  their  service  Captain  Un- 
derhill, a celebrated  partisan  officer,  with  whose  assistance  and, 
it  is  said,  that  of  the  Mohawks,  they  carried  on  the  war  for 
several  years.  Underhill  had  a mixed  corps  of  English  and 
Dutch,  with  whom  he  is  said  to  have  killed  four  hundred  In- 
dians on  Long  Island.  And  in  the  year  1646,  a severe  battle 
took  place  at  ITorseneck  on  the  main,  where  the  Indians  were 
finally  defeated.  J 


* Smith’s  History  of  New  York,  p.  38,  where  is  given  Governor 
Stuyvesant’s  statement  of  the  Dutch  claim  in  1644. 

f The  Delaware  tradition  (Heckewelder’s  Account,  chap,  ii.)  that 
they  first  received  the  Dutch,  is  correct. 

t Trumbull’s  History  of  Connecticut,  passim. 

VOL.  II.  6 


42 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


It  appears,  from  the  researches  of  the  Hon.  Silas  Wood, 
that  there  were  not  less  than  thirteen  distinct  tribes  on  Long 
Island,  over  which  the  Montauks,  who  inhabited  the  eastern- 
most part  of  the  island,  exercised  some  kind  of  authority, 
though  they  had  been  themselves  tributaries  of  the  Pequods 
before  the  subjugation  of  these  by  the  English.  The  two  ex- 
tremities of  the  island  were  settled  about  the  same  time,  the 
eastern  by  the  English,  and  the  western  by  the  Dutch. 

The  original  records  of  the  towns  examined  by  Mr.  Wood 
show,  that  the  lands  were  in  both  districts  always  purchased 
from  the  Indians  in  possession.  It  was  only  in  1665,  after  the 
British  had  taken  possession  of  New  York  and  the  whole  of 
the  island  had  been  annexed  to  that  government,  that  it  was 
ordained,  that  no  purchase  from  the  Indians  without  the  Gover- 
nor’s license,  executed  in  his  presence,  should  be  valid.*  The 
Indians  appear  to  have  been  at  times,  or  at  least  with  a single 
exception,  on  friendly  terms  with  the  English  ; and  although 
there  is  some  discrepancy  in  the  accounts,  it  is  probable  that 
the  hostilities,  which  had  previously  existed  between  those  In- 
dians and  the  Dutch,  had  ceased  prior  to  the  year  1655.f 

The  several  tribes  of  Long  Island  spoke  kindred  dialects,  of 
which  we  have  two  specimens ; Mr.  Wood’s  short  vocabulary 
of  the  Montauks,  from  a manuscript  in  the  possession  of  the 
late  John  Lyon  Gardner  ; and  that  of  a tribe  called  Unchagogs 
(by  Mr.  Wood),  taken  in  1792,  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  in  the 
possession  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society.  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson states  that  the  dialect  differs  a little  from  those  of  the 
Shinicooks  of  South  Hampton,  or  of  the  Montauks ; and  that 
these  three  tribes  barely  understood  each  other.  The  language 
appears  to  me  to  differ  farther  in  its  vocabulary  from  those  of 
New  England,  than  any  of  these  from  each  other.  Although 
a reservation  of  land  was  made  for  those  Indians,  there  remain 
only  some  Montauks ; and  the  language  is  said  to  be  extinct. 

In  the  absence  of  the  Dutch  records,  during  the  fifty  years 
of  their  dominion,  (1610-1664,)  we  have  been  obliged  to 
resort  to  the  transient  notices  of  the  English  or  American  wri- 
ters. A certain  fact  asserted  by  all  of  them,  confirmed  by  eye- 
witnesses, and  acknowledged  by  the  Indians,  is  that  the  Mohicans 
or  River  Indians  including  the  Wappings,  had  been  subjugated 


* Smith’s  History  of  New  York,  p.  54. 
f Wood’s  Account  of  the  Settlement  of  Long  Island, 


SECT.  XI.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  43 

by  the  Five  Nations,  and  paid  to  them  some  kind  of  tribute. 
According  to  Governor  Trumbull,  the  Indians  as  far  east  as  the 
Connecticut  River  had  shared  the  same  fate.*  It  may  be 
doubted  whether  this  could  properly  be  asserted  of  all  of  them. 
But  it  is  certain  that  the  Long  Island  Indians  did  also  generally 
pay  tribute ; and  we  have  the  irrefragable  evidence  of  an  eye- 
witness, the  late  Samuel  Jones,  that,  as  late  as  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  collected  by  Mohawk  deputies 
in  Queen’s  County. 

Judge  Smith,  in  his  “ History  of  New  York,”  published  in 
1756,  says,  that,  “ when  the  Dutch  began  the  settlement  of  this 
country,  all  the  Indians  on  Long  Island  and  the  northern  shore  of 
the  Sound,  on  the  banks  of  Connecticut,  Hudson’s,  Delaware, 
and  Susquehanna  Rivers,  were  in  subjection  to  the  Five  Na- 
tions, and,  within  the  memory  of  persons  now  living,  acknowl- 
edged it  by  the  payment  of  an  annual  tribute.”!  He  giyes  no 
authority  for  the  early  date  he  assigns  to  that  event.  The 
subsequent  protracted  wars  of  the  Dutch  with  the  Manhattans 
and  the  Long  Island  Indians,  and  the  continued  warfare  of  the 
Mohawks  against  the  Connecticut  Indians,  are  inconsistent  with 
that  account,  which  is  clearly  incorrect  with  respect  to  the 
Mohikander  River  Indians,  or  Manhicans.  These  are  men- 
tioned by  De  Laet  as  the  mortal  enemies  of  the  Maquas.  It  was 
undoubtedly  the  interest  of  the  Dutch  to  promote  any  arrange- 
ment, which,  by  compelling  the  Mohicans  to  remain  at  peace, 
would  secure  their  own  and  increase  their  trade.  If  they  suc- 
ceeded at  any  time,  the  peace  was  but  temporary.  We  learn 
from  the  Relations  of  the  French  Missionaries,  that  war  exist- 
ed in  1656,  between  the  Mahingans  and  the  Mohawks,  and 
that  these  experienced  a severe  check  in  1663,  in  an  attack 
upon  a Mahingan  fortified  village.  And  Golden  states  that  the 
contest  was  not  at  an  end  till  1673.  “ The  trade  of  New 

York,”  he  says,  “was  hindered  by  the  war  which  the  Five 
Nations  had  at  that  time  with  the  River  Indians  ; ” and  he  adds 
that  the  Governor  of  New  York  “ obtained  a peace  between 
the  Five  Nations  and  the  Mahikanders  or  River  Indians.”  % 

It  is  also  certain  that  those  Mohikander  or  River  Indians, 
were  not  reduced  to  the  same  state  in  which  the  Delawares 


* Yol.  I.  p.  56. 

f Page  216.  He  quotes  the  instance  of  a small  tribe  in  Orange  County 
which  still  made  a yearly  payment  of  about  £ 20  to  the  Mohawks, 
1 Colden,  chap.  ii.  p.  35. 


44 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


were  placed.  It  is  proved  by  the  concurring  accounts  of  the 
French  and  English  writers,  that,  subsequently  to  the  peace 
of  1674,  they  were  repeatedly,  indeed  uniformly,  employed 
as  auxiliaries  in  the  wars  of  the  Five  Nations  and  the  British 
against  the  French.  At  the  treaty  of  Albany  of  1746,  which 
has  already  been  quoted,  they  were  positively  invited  and 
requested  to  join  heartily  with  both  for  that  purpose  ; and  they 
acted  accordingly.  It  may  be  that  the  Dutch  or  English  had 
obtained  from  the  Five  Nations  a general  release  of  any  claim 
they  might  have  on  the  lands  of  the  subdued  tribes.  But  if 
the  right  was  reserved,  it  is  proved  by  the  records  of  Long 
Island,  that  it  was  not  rigidly  enforced  ; and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  same  observation  applies  equally  to  the  ancient 
settlements  in  other  parts  of  the  State.  The  whole  western 
district  has  of  course  been  purchased  from  the  Five,  or  as 
since  called,  the  Six  Nations, 


The  Delawares  call  themselves  Lenno-Lenape,  which  means 
“Original,  or  Unmixed  Men”;  perhaps  originally  “manly 
men,”  if  Lenape  is  derived  from  Lenno,  “ man,  homo”  and 
nape,  “ male.”  They  say  that  they  at  first  consisted  of  three 
tribes,  the  Unarni,  or  “ Turtle  ” tribe,  which  claimed  precedence 
over  the  others,  the  Minsi,  or  “Wolf”  tribe,  who,  though  still 
intimately  connected,  separated  themselves  from  the  Delawares 
proper,  and  speak  a different  dialect,  and  the  Unalachtgo,  or 
“ Turkey  ” tribe,  who  remain  mixed  with  the  Unami.  They  were 
called  Loups  (wolves)  by  the  French.  But  it  was  because 
they  confounded  them  with  the  Mohicans  and  New  England 
Indians,  whom  they  designated  by  the  general  appellation  of 
Mahingan,  which  means  “Wolf”  in  the  Algonkin  and  Chip- 
peway  dialects. 


DELAWARE  AND  MINSI. 

The  Delaware  and  Minsi  occupied  the  country  bounded 
eastwardly  and  southwardly  by  Hudson  River  and  the  Atlantic. 
On  the  west  they  appear  to  have  been  divided  from  the  Nanti- 
cokes  and  the  Susquehannocks,  by  the  height  of  land  which 
separates  the  waters  falling  into  the  Delaware  from  those  that 
empty  into  the  Susquehanna  and  Chesapeake.  They  proba- 
bly extended  southwardly  along  the  Delaware  as  far  as  Sandy 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  45 

Hook,  which  seems  to  have  belonged  to  another  tribe.*  On 
the  north  they  were  in  possession  of  the  country  watered  by 
the  Schuylkill,  to  its  sources.  The  line  thence  to  the  Hudson 
is  more  uncertain.  They  may  originally  have  extended  to  the 
sources  of  the  Delaware  ; and  it  was  perhaps  owing  to  the 
conquests  of  a comparatively  recent  date,  that,  at  the  treaty  of 
Easton,  of  1758,  the  Delaware  chief,  Tedyuscung,  who  had 
at  first  asserted  the  claim  of  his  nation  to  that  extent,  restricted 
it  to  one  of  the  intervening  ranges  of  hills,  and  acknowledged 
that  the  lands  higher  up  the  river  belonged  to  his  uncles  of  the 
Five  Nations.  East  of  the  Delaware,  the  Lenape  tribes  were 
separated  by  the  Catskill  Mountains  from  the  Mohawks.  But 
it  has  already  been  stated  that  the  Wappings  intervened  and 
extended  even  below  the  Highlands.  The  division  line  be- 
tween those  Wappings  and  the  Minsi,  is  not  known  with  cer- 
tainty. 

That  between  the  Delawares  proper,  and  the  Minsi  in  New 
Jersey,  is  ascertained  by  an  authentic  document.  Almost  all 
the  lands  in  that  colony  had  been  gradually  purchased  from 
those  Indians  respectively  who  had  actual  possession.  Some 
tracts  remained,  which  both  tribes  stated  not  to  have  been  in- 
cluded within  those  sales.  And  at  the  same  treaty  of  Easton 
they  both  made  distinct  releases  of  all  their  claims  to  that  resi- 
due ; the  Delawares,  for  the  lands  lying  south,  and  the  Minsi 
for  those  lying  north  of  a line  drawn  from  Sandy  Hook  up  the 
Raritan  to  its  forks,  then  up  its  north  fork  to  the  falls  of  Alama- 
tung,  and  thence  in  a straight  line  to  the  Pasequalin  Mountain 
on  the  River  Delaware.  The  line  in  Pennsylvania  between  the 
tribes  is  not  so  clearly  ascertained.  It  is  however  known  that 
the  tract,  on  which  Nazareth  stands,  was  purchased  by  the 
Moravians  from  the  Minsi. 

Various  tribes  are  mentioned  by  the  Swedes  and  by  De  Laet, 
on  both  shores  of  the  Delaware,  from  its  mouth  to  Trenton  Falls; 
and  the  same  observation  applies  to  the  western  shore  of  the 
Hudson  below  the  Highlands.  But  these  are  clearly  local  des- 
ignations; and  they  are  all  included  under  the  name  of  Rena- 
pi  by  the  Swedish  writers.  The  Delawares  proper  call  them- 
selves Lenno-Lenape  ; and  the  permutations  of  the  letters  r,  l, 
and  n,  are  common  everywhere  amongst  Indian  tribes  speaking 
the  same  language. 

o o 

* Qiimre,  whether  the  Conois  ? See  Alrick’s  Commission. 


40 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


We  have  two  ancient  vocabularies  of  the  Delaware,  one  in 
the  description  of  New  Sweden  by  Thomas  Campanius, 
lately  translated  by  M.  Duponceau,  and  the  other  of  the  Sank- 
hicans,  so  called,  by  De  Laet.  They  are  almost  identical  and 
both  are  clearly  Delaware.  The  settlements  of  the  Swedes,  on 
the  river  of  that  name,  do  not  appear  to  have  extended  far  above 
the  present  site  of  Philadelphia.  The  Sankhicans  are  placed 
by  Campanius  at  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware.  They  are  men- 
tioned by  De  Laet  as  occupying  the  western  side  of  the  Hud- 
son, as  living  along  the  bays  and  in  the  interior  of  the  country, 
and,  finally,  as  the  upper  nation  on  the  Delaware  known  to  the 
Dutch,  and  living  eighteen  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  that  river. 
The  Delawares  were  subdivided  into  numerous  small  tribes, 
distinguished  by  local  names  ; and  it  is  clear  that  one  of  those 
tribes  named  Sankhican  by  the  Swedes  and  Dutch  writers, 
lived  up  the  Delaware  where  both  place  it ; and  that  when 
De  Laet  speaks  of  them  in  the  first  passage,  as  inhabiting  the 
western  side  of  the  Hudson,  he  extends  the  appellation  of 
Sankhican  to  the  Delawares  generally.* 

At  the  same  time  when  William  Penn  landed  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  Delawares  had  been  subjugated  and  made  women  by 
the  Five  Nations.  It  is  well  known,  that,  according  to  that 
Indian  mode  of  expression,  the  Delawares  were  henceforth  pro- 
hibited from  making  war,  and  placed  under  the  sovereignty  of  the 
conquerors,  who  did  not  even  allow  sales  of  land,  in  the  actual 
possession  of  the  Delawares,  to  be  valid  without  their  approba- 
tion. William  Penn,  his  descendants,  and  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania accordingly  always  purchased  the  right  of  possession 
from  the  Delawares,  and  that  of  sovereignty  from  the  Five 
Nations.  The  tale  suggested  by  the  vanity  of  the  Delawares, 
and  in  which  the  venerable  Heckewelder  placed  implicit  faith, 
that  this  treaty  was  a voluntary  act  on  the  part  of  the  Dela- 
wares, is  too  incredible  to  require  a serious  discussion.  It  cannot 
be  admitted  that  they  were  guilty  of  such  an  egregious  act  of 


* We  learn  however,  from  Mr.  Heckewelder,  that  the  Delawares 
called  the  Mohawks  by  that  very  name  “ Sankhicani.”  It  is  therefore 
probable  that  the  Maquas,  in  the  course  of  the  war,  had  a fort  or  a settle- 
ment near  the  Falls  of  Trenton,  as  they  afterwards  had  one  twelve 
miles  from  Fort  Christina,  and  that,  the  place  being  accordingly  called 
by  the  Delawares  Sankhican,  the  Dutch  and  Swedes  mistook  it  for  the 
name  of  a Delaware  tribe.  De  Laet’s  Sankhican  vocabulary  is  at  all 
events  Delaware. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  47 

folly  as  to  assent  voluntarily  to  an  agreement,  which  left  their 
deadly  enemies  at  liberty  to  destroy  their  own  kindred,  friends, 
and  allies,  with  no  other  remedy  but  the  empty  title  of  Media- 
tors, a character  in  which  they  never  once  appeared.  And  it 
is  really  absurd  to  suppose,  that  any  Indian  tribe,  victorious 
too  as  the  Delawares  are  stated  to  have  been  at  that  time, 
should  have  voluntarily  submitted  to  that  which,  according  to 
their  universal  and  most  deeply  rooted  habits  and  opinions,  is 
the  utmost  degradation  and  ignominy.  But  it  is  difficult  to  as- 
certain when  that  event  took  place  ; and  it  seems  probable,  as 
asserted  by  the  Indians,  that  it  was  subsequent  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Europeans. 

De  Laet,  in  1624,  writes  that  the  Sankhicans  were  mortal 
enemies  of  the  Manhattans  ; which  proves  that  the  Sankhicans, 
or  Delawares,  were  not  yet  prohibited  from  going  to  war.  We 
find  also  in  Campanius,  that  the  Minquas  had  a fort  on  a 
high  hill  about  twelve  miles  from  Christina  ; and  he  says 
that  as  late  as  1646,  the  Indians  (viz.  the  Delawares)  had 
taken  and  burnt  alive  one  of  those  Minquas.  He  adds,  indeed, 
“ that  the  Minquas  forced  the  other  Indians,  who  were  not  so 
warlike  as  themselves,  to  be  afraid  of  them,  and  made  them 
subject  and  tributary  to  them,  so  that  they  dare  not  stir,  much 
less  go  to  war  against  them.”  Still,  taking  all  these  remarks 
together,  it  would  appear  that  the  war  between  the  two  na- 
tions had  not  yet  terminated  in  complete  subjugation.  This 
is  corroborated  by  what  Evans  says  in  the  analysis  of  his  Map  ; 
to  wit,  that  the  Iroquois  had  conquered  the  Lenno-Lenape ; 
but  that  these  had  previously  sold  the  lands,  from  the  Falls  of 
Trenton  down  to  the  sea,  to  Peter  Menevit,  commander  under 
Christina,  Queen  of  Sweden. 

The  first  settlement  of  the  Swedes  was  commenced  in  the 
year  1631.*  Peter  Menevit,  or  Minuit,  was  commander  or 
governor,  in  1638.f  Their  principal  establishment  was  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Christina,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 
that  name.  In  the  year  1651,  the  Dutch  built  Fort  Casimir, 
now  called  Newcastle,  a few  miles  below.]:  The  Swedes 

soon  after  took  possession  of  it.  But  they  were  expelled  in 
1655,  by  the  Dutch,  from  all  their  possessions  on  the  Delaware. 
The  country  was  then  governed  by  a director  appointed  by  the 


# Holmes’s  Annals. 
% Ibid.  p.  24. 


f Smith’s  History  of  New  York,  p.  21. 


48  A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

Dutch  commander  of  New  York,  till  the  year  1664,  when, 
together  with  New  York,  it  was  taken  by  the  British.  Smith 
has  preserved,  in  his  “History  of  New  York,”  an  extract  from 
the  Commission  of  Alrick,  one  of  the  first  Dutch  Directors, 
dated  April,  1657.  He  was  appointed  “ Director  General  of 
the  Colony  of  the  South  River  of  the  Netherlands,  and  the 
fortress  of  Casimir,  now  called  Niewer  Amstel,  with  all  the 
lands  depending  thereon,  according  to  the  first  purchase  and 
deed  of  release  of  the  natives,  dated  July  19th,  1651,  begin- 
ning at  the  west  side  of  the  Minquaa  or  Christina  Kill,  in  the 
Indian  language  named  Suspeungh,  to  the  mouth  of  the  bay 
or  river  called  Bompt  Hook,  in  the  Indian  language  Cannaresse, 
and  so  far  inland  as  the  bounds  and  limits  of  the  Minquaas, 
land , with  all  the  streams,  and  appurtenances,  and  dependen- 
cies.”* 

This  appears  to  be  the  first  purchase  made  from  the  Minquas  ; 
and  it  may  be  inferred  from  all  that  precedes,  that  the  final 
subjugation  of  the  Delawares  took  place  about  the  year  1750. 
The  Europeans  were  then  too  weak  to  have  had  much,  if  any, 
agency  in  that  event. 

At  a preparatory  conference  held  at  Burlington,  in  August, 
1758,  prior  to  the  ensuing  treaty  of  Easton,  John  Hudson, 
the  Cayuga  chief,  who  attended  in  behalf  of  the  Six  Nations, 
in  his  speech  to  the  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  said,  “ the  Mun- 
seys  are  women  and  cannot  hold  treaties  for  themselves  ; but 
the  invitation  you  gave  them  is  agreeable  to  us,  and  we  will 
attend,  but  not  here  ; the  council-fire  must  be  held,  as  hereto- 
fore, in  Pennsylvania.”  f The  treaty  was  accordingly  held  at 
Easton  in  October  following,  and  was  most  numerously  attended 
by  deputies  from  the  Six  Nations,  the  Chihokies  or  Dela- 
wares, the  Minsis,  Wappings,  Mohicans,  Nanticokes,  &c.  The 
result  has  already  been  stated.  The  deeds  of  release  to  New 
Jersey  by  the  Delawares  and  the  Minsis  were  approved  by  the 
Six  Nations,  through  three  of  their  chiefs,  who  signed  them. 
But,  in  the  course  of  the  conferences,  they  declared,  through 
their  speaker,  Thomas  King,  that  they  had  no  claim  to  the 
lands  of  the  Minsis  or  of  their  other  nephews  (the  Delawares) 
on  the  east  side  of  Delaware  River.  Nor  is  there  any 


* Smith’s  History  of  New  York,  p.  25.  Chalmers  (p.632)  mentions 
the  purchase,  and  that  it  was  effected  by  Hudde,  a Dutch  officer, 
f Smith’s  History  of  New  Jersey. 


SECT.  IX.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  49 

evidence  in  Smith’s  “History  of  New  Jersey,”  that  the  proprie- 
taries of  that  province  had  ever  before  obtained  deeds  of 
confirmation  from  the  Six  Nations,  for  the  lands  purchased  from 
the  Delaware  and  Minsi  tribes,  which  were  in  the  actual  posses- 
sion of.  the  same.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  right  to  the 
Lenape  lands  was  not  more  rigidly  enforced  by  the  Five 
Nations  in  New  Jersey  than  in  New  York.  The  same  course 
might  perhaps  have  taken  place  in  Pennsylvania,  had  not  Mr. 
Penn  applied  to  them  for  cessions  which  they  never  hesitated 
to  make.  It  may  be  also  that,  as  he  introduced  the  laudable 
custom  ol  public  purchases  made  by  solemn  treaties,  the  Five 
Nations  would  not  permit  such  national  councils  to  be  held 
by  the  Delawares  without  their  approbation. 

The  use  of  arms,  though  from  very  different  causes,  was 
equally  prohibited  to  the  Delawares  and  to  the  Quakers.  Thus 
the  colonization  of  Pennsylvania  and  of  West  New  Jersey 
by  the  British,  commenced  under  the  most  favorable  auspices. 
Peace  and  the  utmost  harmony  prevailed  for  more  than  sixty 
years  between  the  whites  and  the  Indians ; for  these  were  for 
the  first  time  treated,  not  only  justly,  but  kindly  by  the  colon- 
ists. But,  however  gradually  and  peaceably  their  lands  might 
have  been  purchased,  the  Delawares  found  themselves  at  last 
in  the  same  situation  as  all  the  other  Indians,  without  lands  of 
their  own,  and  therefore  without  means  of  subsistence.  They 
were  compelled  to  seek  refuge  on  the  waters  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, as  tenants  at  will,  on  lands  belonging  to  their  hated 
conquerors,  the  Five  Nations.  Even  there  and  on  the  Juniat- 
ta,  they  were  encroached  upon  by  white  settlers  less  scrupulous 
than  the  Quakers  had  been.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  agents 
of  the  Proprietaries  were  occasionally  too  urgent  in  asking  for 
further  concessions  of  land,  and  in  obtaining  extensive  and 
alarming  grants  from  the  Five  Nations.  Under  those  circum- 
stances, many  of  the  Delawares  determined  to  remove  west  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and,  about  the  year  1740-50,  ob- 
tained, from  their  ancient  allies  and  uncles  the  Wyandots,  the 
grant  of  a derelict  tract  of  land  lying  principally  on  the  Mus- 
kingum. The  great  body  of  the  nation  was  still  attached  to 
Pennsylvania.  But  the  grounds  of  complaint  increased.  The 
Delatvares  were  encouraged  by  the  western  tribes,  and  by  the 
French,  to  shake  oft’  the  yoke  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  to  join 
in  the  war  against  their  allies  the  British.  The  frontier  settle- 
ments of  Pennsylvania  were  accordingly  attacked  both  by  the 

VOL.  II.  7 


50  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

Delawares  and  the  Sbawnoes.  And,  although  peace  was  made 
with  them  at  Easton  in  1758,  and  the  conquest  of  Canada  put 
an  end  to  the  general  war,  both  the  Shawnoes  and  Delawares 
removed  altogether  in  1768,  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
This  resolution  had  not  been  taken  without  much  reluctance. 
At  a preparatory  conference  held  at  Easton,  in  1757,  the 
Delaware  Chief  Tedyuscung  said,  “We  intend  to  settle  at 
Wyoming  ; we  want  to  have  certain  boundaries  fixed  between 
you  and  us,  and  a certain  tract  of  land  fixed,  which  it  shall  not 
be  lawful  for  us  or  our  children  to  sell,  nor  for  you  or  any  of 
your  children  ever  to  buy  ; that  we  may  be  not  pushed  on 
every  side,  but  have  a certain  country  fixed  for  our  own  use  and 
that  of  our  children  for  ever.”  And,  at  the  treaty  of  Easton 
in  1758,  he  accordingly  applied  to  the  Six  Nations  for  a per- 
manent grant  of  land  at  Shamokin  and  Wyoming  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna. The  Maqua  chiefs  answered  that  they  were  not 
authorized  to  sell  any  lands  ; that  they  would  refer  the  demand  to 
their  great  council  at  Onondago,  which  alone  had  a right  to  make 
sales.  “ In  the  mean  while,”  they  added,  “ you  may  make 
use  of  those  lands  in  conjunction  with  our  own  people  and  all 
the  rest  of  our  relations,  the  Indians  of  the  different  nations 
in  our  alliance.”  It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  Delawares 
did  not  lay  any  claim  to  the  lands  on  the  Susquehanna,  which 
they  acknowledged  to  belong  altogether  to  the  Six  Nations. 

The  removal  of  the  Delawares,  Minsi,  and  Shawnoes  to  the 
Ohio,  at  once  extricated  them  from  the  yoke  of  the  Six  Nations, 
and  cut  off  the  intercourse  between  these  and  the  Miamis  and 
other  western  Indians  who  had  been  inclined  to  enter  into  their 
alliance.  The  years  1765-1795  are  the  true  period  of  the 
power  and  importance  of  the  Delawares.  United  with  the 
Sbawnoes,  who  were  settled  on  the  Scioto,  they  sustained 
during  the  seven  years’  war  the  declining  power  of  France,  and 
arrested  for  some  years  the  progress  of  the  British  and  Ameri- 
can arms.  Although  a portion  of  the  nation  adhered  to  the 
Americans  during  the  war  of  Independence,  the  main  body 
together  with  all  the  western  nations  made  common  cause 
with  the  British.  And,  after  the  short  truce  which  followed 
the  treaty  of  1783,  they  were  again  at  the  head  of  the  western 
confederacy  in  their  last  struggle  for  independence.  Placed 
by  their  geographical  situation  in  the  front  of  battle,  they  were 
during  those  three  wars,  the  aggressors,  and,  to  the  last  moment, 


SECT.  II.]  ALG0NK1N-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  51 

the  most  active  and  formidable  enemies  of  America.*  The 
decisive  victory  of  General  Wayne  (1794)  dissolved  the  con- 
federacy ; and  the  Delawares  were  the  greatest  sufferers  by  the 
treaty  of  Greenville  of  1795. 

The  greater  part  of  the  lands  allotted  them  by  the  Wyan- 
dots  was  ceded  by  that  treaty,  and  they  then  obtained  from  the 
Miamis  a tract  of  land  on  the  White  River  of  Wabash,  which, 
by  the  treaty  of  Vincennes  of  1804,  was  guarantied  to  them 
by  the  United  States.  But  the  Miamis  having  contended  the 
ensuing  year,  at  the  treaty  of  Grouseland,  that  they  had  only 
permitted  them  to  occupy  the  territory,  but  had  not  conveyed  the 
soil  to  them,  the  Delawares  released  the  United  States  from 
that  guarantee.  They  did  not  take  part  with  the  British  in  the 
last  war,  and,  together  with  some  Mohicans  and  Nanticokes, 
remained  on  White  River  till  the  year  1819,  when  they  finally 
ceded  their  claim  to  the  United  States.  Those  residing  there 
were  then  reduced  to  about  eight  hundred  souls.  A number, 
including  the  Moravian  converted  Indians,  had  previously 
removed  to  Canada  ; and  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  situation 
or  numbers  of  the  residue  at  this  time.  Those  who  have 
lately  removed  west  of  the  Mississippi  are,  in  an  estimate  of 
the  War  Department,  computed  at  four  hundred  souls.  Former 
emigrations  to  that  quarter  had  however  taken  place,  and  sev- 
eral small  dispersed  bands  are,  it  is  believed,  united  with  the 
Senecas  and  some  other  tribes. 

The  appended  vocabularies  of  the  Delaware  and  Minsi  are 
extracted  from  those  in  manuscript  received  from  Mr.  Hecke- 
welder,  and  which  make  part  of  Mr.  Duponceau’s  valuable 
collection. 


Captain  Smith,  the  founder  of  the  first  permanent  British 
Colony  in  Virginia,  has  given  us  the  names  of  six  tribes  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  Virginia  and  Maryland.  The  two  most 
southern,  the  Acomack  and  Acohanoek,  spoke  the  Powhat- 
tan  language.  Thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna, 

* We  have,  in  the  tenth  Volume  of  the  Colleotions  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society  (1st  series),  two  accounts  of  the  Indians  engaged  in 
the  battle  on  the  Miami,  where  they  were  defeated  by  General  Wayne. 
According  to  one,  there  were  five  hundred  Delawares  out  of  fifteen 
hundred  Indians  who  were  in  the  action  ; according  to  the  other,  three 
out  of  seven  hundred. 


52  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

he  designates  the  Wighcomocos,  the  Kuskara\vaock,the  Ozimies, 
and  the  Tockwoghs, amounting  together  to  four  hundred  and  sixty 
warriors.  He  makes  no  mention  of  the  Nanticokes,  but,  on  his 
map,  a village  of  that  name  is  placed  on  the  Choctanck  River  ; 
and  we  are  informed  by  Mr.  Heckewelder  that  the  Nanticokes 
were  called  by  the  Delawares  Tawachguano,  in  which  name  that 
of  Tockwoghs  is  easily  recognised.  In  more  recent  times,  all  the 
Indians  of  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland  have  been  embraced 
under  the  general  designation  of  Nanticokes.  We  learn  from 
Charles  Thompson,*  that  they  were  forced  by  the  Five  Na- 
tions to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  them  ; a fact  easily  account- 
ed for,  by  the  erection  of  the  Maqua  fort  twelve  miles  from 
Newcastle,  by  their  geographical  situation,  and  by  their  weak- 
ness. During  the  first  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  they 
began  to  migrate  up  the  Susquehanna,  where  they  had  lands 
allotted  to  them  by  the  Six  Nations,  and  were  after  a while 
admitted  as  a seventh  nation  into  that  confederacy.  At  the 
treaty  of  1758,  Tokaaio,  a Cayuga  chief,  spoke  in  behalf  of 
the  five  younger  nations,  to  wit,  the  Cayugas,  the  Oneidas,  the 
Tuscaroras,  the  Nanticokes  and  Conoys,  and  the  Tuteloes. 
The  Conoys  were  either  a tribe  of  the  Nanticokes  or  intimate- 
ly connected  with  them.  - Charles  Thompson  calls  the  nation 
Nanticokes  or  Conoys,  but  confounds  them  with  the  Tuteloes. 
Mr.  Heckewelder  thinks  the  Conoys  to  be  the  same  people 
with  the  Kanhawas.  This  last  name  is  identical  with  that  of 
the  western  river  Kanhawa,  and  it  might  have  been  supposed 
that  the  Kanhawas  were  a tribe  living  on  that  river,  and  that 
called  by  the  Five  Nations  Coclmowas,  which  at  the  confer- 
ences of  Lancaster  (1744)  they  said  they  had  destroyed.  But 
it  seems  certain  that  the  Indians  on  the  heads  of  the  Potomac 
were  called  Ganawese  and  Canhawaas.f 

The  Nanticokes  and  Conoys,  being  the  allies  of  the  Six 
Nations,  remained  on  the  Susquehanna  till  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war  of  the  revolution,  when  they  removed  to  the 
west  and  joined  the  British  standard.  They  do  not  appear  to 
exist  any  longer  as  a nation,  but  are  still  found,  mixed  with 
other  tribes,  both  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada. 

The  vocabulary  of  their  language  is  extracted  from  two 
manuscripts  in  Mr.  Duponceau’s  collection,  one  taken  by  Mr. 


* Appendix  to  Jefferson’s  Notes  on  Virginia, 
f See  hereafter  under  the  head  of  Susquehannocks. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  53 

Heckevvelder  in  1785,  from  a Nanticoke  chief  living  in  Cana- 
da ; the  other  taken  in  1792,  by  the  late  William  Vans  Murray, 
and  sent  by  him  to  Mr.  Jefferson.  It  was  taken  from  an  old 
woman  called  Mrs.  Muberry,  the  widow  of  their  last  chief,  who 
lived  at  Locust  Necktown,  Goose  Creek,  Choctank  River, 
Dorset  County,  Maryland.  The  village  consisted  of  five 
wigwams  and  two  board  houses.  The  few  surviving  Indians 
spoke  exclusively  their  own  language  among  themselves. 
That  particular  tribe  called  itself  Wiwash.  Winikako,  the 
last  great  Sachem,  died  about  1720.  The  tribe  consisted  then 
of  more  than  five  hundred  souls.* 

Captain  Smith,  in  the  year  1608,  sailed  from  James  River 
to  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  found  the  western 
shore  deserted  from  the  Patapsco  upwards.  The  Tockwoghs 
or  Nanticokes  were  fortified  east  of  the  Susquehanna  to  de- 
fend themselves  against  the  Massawomeks,  the  name  given 
by  the  Chesapeake  Indians  to  the  Five  Nations.  And  he  met, 
at  the  head  of  the  bay,  eight  canoes  full  of  those  Massawom- 
eks, on  their  return  from  an  expedition  against  the  Tockwoghs. 
Two  days  higher  up  the  river  lived  the  Susquehannocks, 
amounting  to  near  six  hundred  warriors,  and  who  were  also 
“ pallisadoed  in  their  towns  to  defend  themselves  from  the 
Massawomeks,  their  mortal  enemies.” 

In  the  years  1730-1740,  the  Five  Nations  complained,  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Maryland  encroached  on  their  lands.  The 
treaty  of  Lancaster,  in  the  year  1744,  was  held  principally  for 
the  purpose  of  settling  those  differences,  and  also  the  claim  set 
up  by  the  same  Indians  to  the  western  parts  of  Virginia.  The 
Maryland  commissioners  there  stated,  that  the  Susquehanna 
Indians,  by  a treaty  above  ninety  years  since  (1654),  had 
yielded  to  the  English  the  greatest  part  of  the  lands  possessed 
by  Maryland  from  Patuxent  River  on  the  western,  as  well  as 
from  Chocktank  River  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  great  Bay  of 
Chesapeake.  It  would  seem  from  that  declaration,  that  the  Nanti- 
cokes were,  in  those  early  times,  included  by  the  government 
of  Maryland  in  the  general  designation  of  Susquehanna  Indians. 

To  this  Canassatego,  the  Onondago  chief,  replied,  that  they 
acknowledged  the  validity  of  the  deed,  “and  that  the  Cones- 
togoe  or  Susquehanna  Indians  had  a right  to  sell  those  lands 
to  Maryland,  for  they  were  then  theirs ; but  since  that  time, 

* Mr.  Vans  Murray’s  Letter  to  Mr.  Jefferson. 


54 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


we  have  conquered  them  and  their  country  now  belongs  to  us  ; 
and  the  lands  we  demanded  satisfaction  for,  are  no  part  of  the 
lands  comprised  in  those  deeds ; they  are  the  Cohongorontas 
(Potomac)  lands  ; those  you  have  not  possessed  one  hundred 
years,  no,  nor  above  ten  years,  and  we  made  our  demands  so 
soon  as  we  knew  your  people  were  settled  in  these  parts. 
These  have  never  been  sold,  but  still  remain  to  be  disposed  of.” 
The  Five  Nations  agreed  in  the  sequel  to  sell  their  claim  to 
the  lands  in  dispute  on  the  Potomac  as  high  up  as  two  miles 
above  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South  Branch.  It  ap- 
pears therefore  that  the  Susquehannocks,  whose  territory  ex- 
tended east  of  the  Susquehanna  north  of  the  Nanticokes, 
possessed  the  country  west  and  southwest  of  the  said  river  as 
far  as  the  Potomac.  In  the  course  of  the  conferences  at  the 
same  treaty,  Gachradodow,  another  Indian  chief,  in  answer  to 
some  observations  from  the  Virginia  commissioners,  said, 
“ Though  great  things  are  well  remembered  among  us,  yet  we 
don’t  remember  that  we  were  ever  conquered  by  the  Great 
King,  or  that  we  have  been  employed  by  that  Great  King  to 
conquer  others;  if  it  was  so,  it  is  beyond  our  memory.  We 
do  remember,  we  were  employed  by  Maryland  to  conquer  the 
Conestogoes,  and  that  the  second  time  we  were  at  war  with 
them,  we  carried  them  all  off.”* 

Evans  corroborates  these  facts  in  the  Analysis  of  his  Map. 
He  says  that  the  Iroquois  gave  the  finishing  stroke  to  the 
Susquehannocks  ; but  that  Bell,  in  the  service  of  Mary- 

land, had  previously  given  them  a blow,  from  which  they 
never  recovered,  by  the  defeat  of  many  hundred  at  the  fort 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  three  miles  below 
Wright’s  Ferry  (now  Columbia).  Wherefore,  he  says,  the 
Iroquois  claimed  only  northwest  of  a line  drawn  from  Cone- 
wago  Falls  to  the  North  Mountain  where  it  crosses  the  Potomac, 
and  thence  along  the  said  mountains  to  James  River.  Evans 
adds,  that  the  Susquehannocks  had  abandoned  the  western 
shore  of  Maryland  before  being  conquered,  and  that  the  Eng- 
lish found  it  mostly  a derelict. 


* Chalmers,  in  his  Annals,  p.  249,  says  that,  in  1660,  the  Susquehanna 
Indians  assisted  Maryland  against  the  Sanadoa  (Oneidas),  and  he 
quotes  Bacon’s  Laws,  1661.  The  British  had  no  intercourse  with  the 
Five  Nations  till  after  1664,  when  they  took  possession  of  New  York. 


SECT*  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  55 

The  author  of  the  Preface  to  the  Treaty  of  Lancaster  of 
1744  further  informs  us,  that  the  residue  of  the  Conestogoes 
(or  Susquehannocks),  who  were  carried  away  by  the  ' Five 
Nations,  were  adopted  by  the  Oneidas,  and,  when  they  had 
forgotten  their  language,  were  sent  back  to  Conestogo,  where 
they  were  then  living  and  speaking  Oneida.  We  find  accord- 
ingly, in  the  list  of  Indians  who  attended  the  treaty  of  Lancas- 
ter in  1742,  four  of  them  designated  as  Conestogo  Indians  that 
speak  the  Oneida  language,  and  with  genuine  Iroquois  names. 
Four  others  are  designated  as  Canoyias  or  Nanticokes  of  Con- 
estogo, where  a part  had  in  fact  at  first  removed,  and  remained 
some  time  before  they  proceeded  to  the  western  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna. 

This  destruction  of  the  Susquehannocks  must  have  taken 
place  subsequent  to  the  year  1664,  since  it  was  effected  jointly 
by  Maryland  and  the  Five  Nations,  and  probably  before  the 
arrival  of  William  Penn  in  Pennsylvania  (1680).  But  the 
records  of  Maryland  are  wanted  to  elucidate  their  history. 

It  appears,  however,  that  a remnant  wras  left  besides  those 
carried  away  by  the  Oneidas.  A portion  probably  fled  toward 
the  River  Delaware,  where  they  are  mentioned  by  some  of  the 
early  writers,  and  may  subsequently  have  returned  to  their 
abodes.  William  Penn  at  an  early  period,  anxious  to  strength- 
en his  claim  against  the  pretensions  of  Lord  Baltimore,  obtained  a 
cession  of  land  on  the  Susquehanna  from  the  Indians,  whoever 
they  may  have  been,  who  resided  there.  And  this  was  confirmed 
in  the  year  1701,  by  a treaty  made  with  the  Susquehanna  and 
Potomac  Indians,  but  in  presence  and  under  the  sanction  of  an 
Onondago  Chief.  At  that  treaty  Connoodaghtoh  is  styled 
King  of  the  Susquehanna,  Minquaes,  or  Conestogo  Indians  ; 
and  those  inhabiting  the  head  of  the  Potomac  are  called 
Ganawese. 

Mr.  Heckewelder,  speaking  of  the  Conoys,  says,  that  they 
are  the  people  we  call  Canais,  Conoys,  Canaways,  Kanhawas, 
Canwese  ;*  and,  in  another  place,  f that  the  Canai  settled  at  a 
distance,  on  the  shores  of  the  Susquehanna  and  of  the  Potomac. 
Colden  mentions,  under  the  year  1677,  Canagesse  Indians,]! 
and  in  1684,  the  Cahnawaas,^  meaning  certainly  the  same 
people,  as  Indians  friends  of  Virginia,  against  whom  the  Five 


* Historical  Account,  p.  26.  f Ibid.  p.  74. 

t Colden,  Hist.  Five  Nations,  Part  I.  Chap.  iii.  p.  38. 

§ Ibid.  p.  57. 


56 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


Nations  had  committed  hostilities.  Indians  living  on  the  Poto- 
mac, rather  than  on  the  Kanhawa,  must  at  that  time  have  been 
under  the  protection  of  Virginia.  And  it  is  probable  that  the 
Nanticokes,  the  Susquehannocks,  and  the  Conoys,  Canawese,  or 
Cahnawaas,  were  but  one  nation,  extending  from  the  eastern 
shore  of  Maryland,  across  the  bay,  and  North  of  the  Patuxent 
to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Potomac. 

The  final  cession  by  the  Five  Nations  of  the  lands  on  both 
sides  of  the  Susquehanna  lying  in  Pennsylvania  southwest  of 
the  North  Mountain,  was  effected  by  the  treaties  of  1736  and 
1742.  We  have  no  remnant  whatever  of  the  language  of  the 
Susquehannocks. 

Captain  Smith  has  given  a detailed  account  of  the  various 
tribes  found  in  Virginia,  at  the  time  of  its  first  permanent  set- 
tlement in  the  years  1707  and  1709.  Exclusively  of  the 
Massawomacs  (Five  Nations),  who  are  invaders,  of  the  Sus- 
quehannocks who  lay  to  the  north  of  the  colony,  and  of  the 
Nanticokes  and  Tockvvoghs  on  the  eastern  shore  and  already 
alluded  to,  he  mentions  four  nations  or  confederacies  speaking 
distinct  languages. 

Those  which  formed  the  Powhatan  confederacy  embraced, 
on  the  southern  extremity  of  the  eastern  shore,  the  Acomack 
and  the  Acohanock.  On  the  western  shore  of  the  Chesapeake, 
they  extended  from  the  most  southern  rivers  that  empty  into 
James  River’  to  the  Patuxent,  consisting  of  thirty-four  tribes, 
each  having  a distinct  name,  but  speaking  the  same  language, 
and  amounting  together  (including  the  Acomacks  and  Aco- 
hanocks)  to  two  thousand  nine  hundred  warriors,  or  more  than 
ten  thousand  souls.  Their  settlements  extended  westwardly  to 
the  great  falls  of  the  rivers  ; but  it  would  seem,  though  the 
accounts  are  indistinct,  that  their  hunting-grounds  extended 
farther  west  towards  the  first  ridge  of  hills. 

South  of  the  Powhatans,  on  the  waters  of  the  Nottoway 
and  Meherrin  Rivers  which  empty  into  Albemarle  Sound, 
he  places  the  Chawonock  and  Mangoags ; two  Iroquois  tribes, 
known  to  us  under  the  name  of  Nottoways  and  Tuteloes. 

West  of  the  more  southerly  Powhatans,  and  extending 
from  James  River  towards  the  Roanoke,  were  the  Monacans, 
having  several  tribes  (Massinacack,  Monasickapanoughs,  &c.) 
for  tributaries.  These  Monacans  are  considered  as  the  same 
Iroquois  nation  which  called  themselves  Tuscaroras. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  57 


And  west  of  the  more  northern  Powhatans,  and  principally 
on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Rappahannock,  were  the  Man- 
nahoks, who  consisted  of  various  tribes,  differing  in  language, 
and  in  alliance  with  the  Monacans. 

This  account  taken  literally,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the 
Monacans  and  the  Mannahoks,  is  attended  with  several  dif- 
ficulties. The  Mannahoks  were  almost  interspersed  with  the 
Powhatans,  since  they  were  met  by  Smith  on  the  tide-waters 
of  the  Rappahannock.  And  the  lower  town  of  the  Monacans 
on  James  River  appears  to  have  been  immediately  above 
the  falls.  Lawson  says  that  the  well-known  coal  mine  above 
Richmond  was  near  the  Monacan  town.  It  may  be  that  the 
Tuscaroras  had  extended  their  dominion  as  far  north  as  James 
River.  But  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  tribes,  seated  above 
the  falls  of  James  River,  embraced  under  the  general  desig- 
nation of  Monacans,  were  tributaries  of  the  Tuscaroras  ; and 
that  they,  as  well  as  the  Mannahoks  were,  in  fact,  Lenape 
tribes,  speaking  a different  language  from  the  Powhatans, 
and,  as  usual,  generally  at  war  with  them.  We  find  indeed 
that  the  Susquehannocks  themselves,  hard  pressed  as  they 
were  by  the  Five  Nations,  were,  about  the  year  1637,  carrying 
on  a constant  predatory  war  against  the  Powhatan  tribe 
settled  near  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac.* 

The  Tuscaroras  and  other  Iroquois  tribes,  inhabiting  the 
country  south  of  the  Powhatans,  will  be  hereafter  noticed. 
No  specimen  has  been  preserved  of  the  languages  of  any 
of  the  tribes,  either  Monacans  or  Mannahoks,  living  wrest  of 
the  Powhatans.  Of  the  language  of  these,  w'e  have  only  the 
scanty  vocabulary  left  by  Smith,  with  a few  scattered  additional 
words  found  in  Beverly’s  “ History  of  Virginia”  ; but  these  are 
sufficient  to  establish  beyond  a doubt,  that  they  were  a Lenape 
tribe. 

The  first  Virginia  settlers  maintained  an  intercourse,  often 
interrupted  by  hostilities,  with  the  Powhatans  during  the  life 
of  the  great  chief,  father  of  Pocahontas.  Soon  after  his 
death,  the  Indians  made  an  attempt  to  destroy  the  infant 
colony.  Near  three  hundred  and  fifty  English  settlers  were 
massacred,  and  more  than  three  fourths  of  the  plantations 
abandoned.  The  English  soon  recovered,  and  the  contest 
terminated  in  a total  defeat  and  partial  subjugation  of  the 

* Bozman’s  History  of  Maryland, 

8 


VOL.  II. 


58 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [lNTROD. 


Indians.  In  the  year  1644,  they  made  another  effort,  attended 
with  a similar  massacre  and  terminating  in  the  same  manner. 
According  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  the  number  of  warriors  of  the 
different  Powhatan  tribes  was  then  reduced  to  five  hundred. 
In  1676,  Bacon,  during  the  insurrection  which  bears  his  name, 
appears  to  have  completed  their  total  subjugation.  From  that 
time  they  had  lands  reserved  to  them,  for  which  they  paid  a 
nominal  tribute;  and  they  were  henceforth  considered  as  under 
the  protection  of  the  British  Government.  They  gradually 
dwindled  away,  intermarried  with  the  blacks,  and  have  now 
entirely  disappeared.  At  least  it  is  not  believed  that  a single 
individual  remains  that  speaks  the  language. 

As  soon  as  the  British  had  taken  possession  of  New  York, 
the  governors  of  Virginia  found  it  convenient,  if  not  necessary, 
to  secure  peace  with  those  Massawomeks,  or  Five  Nations, 
whose  incursions  have  been  so  long  formidable  to  the  Indians 
living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  heads  of  the  great  rivers,  particular- 
ly of  the  Potomac.  These  Indians  were  now  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Virginia,  as  appears  by  the  conferences  of  1677, 
1684,  and  1685,  already  mentioned,  and  at  which  Colonel 
Kendall,  Lord  Howard,  Colonel  Bird,  &c.,  successively  attended 
on  the  part  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Jefferson  states  that  the  whole 
of  the  upper  country  was  obtained  by  fair  purchases,  which 
must  have  been  from  the  native  Indians  taken  under  the 
protection  of  the  colonial  government.  These,  from  their 
geographical  position,  could  be  no  other  than  those  mentioned 
by  Captain  Smith,  under  the  name  of  Mannahoks.  The  loss 
of  the  colonial  records  of  Virginia  compels  us  to  resort  to 
conjectures,  and  to  the  notices  preserved  in  the  several  con- 
ferences or  treaties  of  Albany  and  Lancaster. 

About  the  year  1722  a treaty  was  concluded  between  the 
Six  Nations  and  Governor  Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  by  which  it 
was  agreed,  that  the  high  ridge  of  mountains,  extending  along 
the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  to  the  westward  of  the  present 
settlements  of  that  colony,  should  be  for  ever  the  established 
boundaries  between  the  Indians  subject  to  the  dominion  of 
Virginia,  and  the  Indians  belonging  to  and  depending  on  the 
Five  Nations.  Whether  the  mountain  intended  was  the  Blue 
Ridge  or  the  North  Mountain  does  not  clearly  appear.  But, 
by  the  treaty  of  Lancaster  of  1774,  the  Five  Nations 
recognised  for  a trifling  consideration  the  British  right  to  all 
the  colony  of  Virginia.  In  the  course  of  the  conferences, 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  59 

and  while  that  matter  was  in  debate,  a speech  was  delivered 
by  the  Indian  Chief  Tachanoontia  ; a portion  of  which  we 
will  quote,  as  it  proves  by  his  own  declaration,  that  the  more 
western  Indians  of  Virginia  were  Lenape  tribes.  It  must  be 
premised  that  the  termination  roonaw,  borrowed  from  the  Al- 
gonkin  Ireni  (men),  was  used  by  the  Iroquois,  to  designate 
Indians  of  the  Algonkin  language. 

o o o 

“ All  the  world  knows  we  conquered  the  several  nations 
living  on  Sasquahannah,  Cohongoronta  (Potomac),  and  on  the 
back  of  the  great  mountains  in  Virginia  ; the  Conoyuch- such- 
roonaw,  the  Cohnowas- ronow,#  the  Tohoairough-roonaw,  and 
the  Konnutsl-cinough-xoo'n&w  feel  the  effects  of  our  conquests, 
being  noyv  a part  of  our  nations,  and  their  lands  at  our  disposal. 
We  know  very  well,  it  hath  often  been  said  by  the  Virginians, 
that  the  Great  King  of  England,  and  the  people  of  that 
Colony,  conquered  the  Indians  who  lived  there  ; but  it  is  not 
true.  We  will  allow  they  have  conquered  the  Sachdagugh- 
roonawf  (Powhatans),  and  drove  back  the  Tuscaroraws,  and 
that  they  have  on  that  account  a right  to  some  part  of  Virginia  ; 
but  as  to  what  lies  beyond  the  mountains,  we  conquered  the 
nations  residing  there,  and  that  land,  if  the  Virginians  ever  get 
a good  right  to  it,  it  must  be  by  us.” 


The  first  attempt  by  the  British  to  colonize  North  America 
was  made  in  the  year  1585,  on  the  coast  of  North  Carolina, 
at  the  small  island  ol  Roanoke.  From  tire  few  words  collect- 
ed by  Ralph  Lane  and  Heriot,  in  Albemarle  and  Pamlico 
Sounds,  and  from  Lawson’s  vocabulary  of  the  Pamhcos,  it 
is  evident  that  the  shores  of  those  Sounds,  from  the  Virginia 
line  to  the  vicinity  ol  Neuse  River  and  Cape  Hatteras,  were 
inhabited  by  Lenape  tribes.  The  Pamlicos  were  reduced  by 
a great  mortality  in  1695  ; J and,  according  to  Lawson,  that 
particular  tribe  was  reduced  to  fifteen  warriors  in  the  year  1708. 


* Here  are  two  names  nearly  similar,  given  to  two  distinct  tribes, 
perhaps  the  Conoys  of  Potomac,  and  the  Kanhawas  of  the  River 
Kanhawa. 

f Sachdagughs  are  the  same  as  the  Powhatans.  (Evans  s Analysis.) 
t Archdale. 


60 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


It  is  probable  however  that  the  Hatteras,  the  Paspatauks,  and 
some  other  small  tribes,  mentioned  by  him,  spoke  dialects  of 
the  same  language.  They  were  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
Chowan  and  Tuscarora  Iroquois  tribes ; on  the  south  by  extinct 
tribes  of  uncertain  origin. 

Western  Lenape. 

Under  this  head  we  include  the  Menomonies,  the  Miami  and 
Illinois  tribes,  the  Sauks,  Foxes,  and  Kickapoos,  and,  finally,  the 
Shawnoes. 

The  Menomonies  or  Malominies,*  called  by  the  French,  “Fol- 
les  Avoines,”  “Wild  Oats,”  are  seated  on  the  northerly  part  of 
Green  Bay,  which  is  their  boundary  on  the  east.  They  are 
bounded  on  the  north  by  those  Chippeways,  who  inhabit  the 
southern  shores  of  Lake  Superior  ; on  the  south  by  the  Win- 
nebagoes.  Towards  the  west  they  join  the  Sauks  and  perhaps 
the  Sioux  Dahcota.  Their  name  is  derived  from  the  wild  rice 
(zizania  [clavulosa  ?]  ),  which  grows  abundantly  in  their  country. 
The  French  have  occasionally  given  to  the  neighbouring  Chip- 
peways the  same  name  (Folles  Avoines)  ; and  they  have  also 
extended  to  both  the  designation  of  “ Sauteurs,”  from  the  Saut 
or  Falls  of  St.  Mary,  on  account  of  their  visiting  it  in  fishing- 
time. They  are  first  mentioned  by  the  Jesuits,  in  the  year 
1669,  when  they  inhabited  the  same  country  as  at  this  time. 
Their  language,  though  of  the  Algonkin  stock,  is  less  similiar 
to  that  of  the  Chippeways,  their  immediate  neighbours,  than 
almost  any  other  dialect  of  the  same  stock.  As  no  other  tribe 
speaks  it,  and  they  generally  speak  Chippeway,  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  find  good  interpreters.  It  is  probably  owing  to  that 
circumstance,  that  they  were  for  a long  while  supposed  to  have 
a distinct  language,  belonging  to  another  stock  than  the  Algon- 
kin. The  appended  vocabulary  was  addressed  by  Mr.  James 
D.  Doty  to  Governor  Cass  ; and  some  words  have  been  sup- 
plied from  Tanner’s  Narrative,  edited  by  Dr.  James.  By  the 
estimate  of  the  War  Department,  they  amount  to  four  thousand 
two  hundred  souls. 

The  $auks  or  Saukies  (White  Clay),  and  the  Foxes  or 


* Prom  Monomonick,  “Wild  rice”  ; Monomoniking,  “ In  the  place  of 
wild  rice.”  (Schoolcraft.) 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  61 

Outagamies,  so  called  by  the  Europeans  and  Algonkins  respec- 
tively, but  whose  true  name  is  Musquakkiuk  (Red  Clay),  are  in 
fact  but  one  nation.  The  French  Missionaries  on  coming  first 
in  contact  with  them,  in  the  year  1665,  at  once  found  that  they 
spoke  the  same  language,  and  that  it  differed  from  the  Algon- 
kin,  though  belonging  to  the  same  stock  ; and  also  that  this 
language  was  common  to  the  Kickapoos  and  to  those  Indians 
they  called  Maskontens.*  This  last  nation,  if  it  ever  had  an 
existence  as  a distinct  tribe,  has  entirely  disappeared.  But  we 
are  informed  by  Charlevoix,  and  Mr.  Schoolcraft  corroborates 
the  fact,  that  the  word  Mascontenck  means  “ a country  without 
woods,  a prairie.”  The  name  “ Mascontens  ” was  therefore 
used  to  designate  “ prairie  Indians.”  And  it  appears  that  they 
consisted  principally  of  Sauks  and  Kickapoos,  with  an  occasion- 
al mixture  of  Potowotamies  and  Miamis,  who  probably  came 
there  to  hunt  the  buffalo.  The  country,  assigned  to  those 
Mascontens,  lay  south  of  the  Fox  River  of  Lake  Michigan,  and 
west  of  Illinois  River. 

The  identity  of  the  language  has  been  more  recently  ascer- 
tained by  the  answers  of  Masco , a Saukie,  and  of  Wahballo,  a 
Fox  chief,  recorded  in  the  report  of  the  Rev.  Jedidiah  Morse.f 
The  last-mentioned  chief  says,  “the  Sauk,  Fox,  and  Kickapoo 
nations  are  related  by  language  ; ” and  again,  “ There  are  only 
three  nations  with  whom  we  can  converse,  the  Sauk,  Fox,  and 
Kickapoo  nations.” 

We  have  no  other  vocabulary  of  the  language  of  those 
nations,  but  that  of  the  Sauks  taken  by  Dr.  Keating  from  the 
Sauk  chief  Wennebea,  inserted  in  his  narrative  of  Major 
Long’s  Second  Expedition. 

When  first  discovered,  the  Sauks  and  Foxes  had  their  seats 
toward  the  southern  extremity  of  Green  Bay,  on  Fox  River, 
and  generally  farther  east  than  the  country  which  they  lately 
occupied.  The  Foxes  became  particularly  hostile  to  the 
French  and  their  Indian  allies.  In  the  year  1712,  they,  to- 
gether with  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascontens  or  Sakies,  attacked 
Fort  Detroit  defended  then  by  only  twenty  Frenchmen.  But 
it  was  relieved  by  the  Ottawas,  Hurons,  Potowotamies,  and 
other  friendly  Indians,  who,  after  a long  resistance,  destroyed 


* Father  Allouez,  Relations  of  New  France,  1666. 
t Appendix,  p.  122. 


62 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


or  captured  the  greater  part  of  the  besieging  force.  The 
Foxes  and  Sauks,  sustained  by  some  of  the  Sioux  tribes,  and  by 
the  Chickasaws,  turned  their  arms  against  the  Illinois,  and  for 
a while  intercepted  the  communication  between  Canada  and 
Louisiana.  They,  together  with  the  Kickapoos,  compelled  the 
Illinois  to  abandon  their  settlements  on  the  river  of  that  name; 
and  the  residue  of  this  nation  sought  refuge,  in  the  year  1722, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  French  settlement  at  Kaskaskia  on  the 
Mississip  pi.* 

The  largest  portion  of  the  territory  of  the  Sauks  and  Foxes, 
even  before  their  late  cession,  lay  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi.  At  what  time  they  settled  beyond  that  river  is 
not  known.  They  partly  subjugated,  and  finally  admitted  into 
their  alliance,  the  lowas,  a Sioux  tribe,  which  is  stated  by  Charle- 
voix to  have  been  formerly  seated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
M ississippi.  By  the  treaty  of  1804,  the  Sauks  and  Foxes 
ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their  lands  east  of  that  river, 
bounded,  according  to  their  claim,  westwardly  by  the  Mississip- 
pi from  the  mouth  of  the  River  Illinois  to  that  of  the  Wiscon- 
sin ; eastwardly  by  Illinois  River  and  the  Fox  River  of  the 
Illinois,  up  to  the  small  lake  called  Sakaegan;  and  northward- 
ly by  a line  drawn  thence  to  the  Wisconsin,  and  down  that 
river  to  its  mouth. 

The  Kickapoos  by  various  treaties,  1809  to  1819,  have  also 
ceded  all  their  lands  to  the  United  Stales.  They  claimed  all 
the  country  between  Illinois  River  and  the  Wabash,  north  of 
the  parallel  of  latitude  passing  by  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  and 
south  of  the  Kankakee  River,  the  most  eastern  branch  of  the 
Illinois  ; the  southern  part  of  it  by  right  of  conquest  from  the 
111  inois  and  fifty  years’  possession.  But,  with  the  exception  of 
a tract  on  Vermilion  River,  the  whole  country  watered  by  the 
Wabash  appears  indubitably  to  have  belonged  to  the  Miami 
tribes. 

The  events  of  the  last  war  with  the  Sauks  are  generally 
known.  According  to  the  estimate,  they  amount  to  five  thou- 
sand three  hundred  souls,  the  Foxes  to  thirteen  hundred,  and 
the  Kickapoos  to  five  hundred.  They  all  now  reside  west  of 
the  Mississippi. 

There  is  no  doubt,  says  Charlevoix,  that  the  Miamis  and  the 
Illinois  were  not  long  ago  (1721)  the  same  people,  from  the 


Charlevoix,  passim. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS. 


63 


great  affinity  between  their  languages.  The  same  affinity  was 
observed  by  Father  Allouez,  who  says  that  their  language, 
though  of  the  Algonkin  stock,  differed  much  from  that  of  all 
the  other  tribes  of  that  family,  and  that  it  was  the  most  difficult 
for  the  Missionaries  to  understand,  The  appended  vocabulary 
of  the  Miamis  is  extracted  from  those  of  Volney  and  Dr. 
Thornton,  both  taken  from  the  Interpreter,  the  late  Mr.  Wells, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  the  celebrated  chief  “ Little  Turtle.” 
That  of  the  Illinois,  from  a manuscript  in  Mr.  Du  ponceau’s  col- 
lection, is  less  authentic  ; the  name  of  the  author,  who  appears 
to  have  been  a French  priest,  being  omitted.  He  calls  it  a 
“ Pi-lllinois-Mi”  (Piankishaw,  Illinois,  Miami,)  vocabulary, 
and  considers  the  three  languages  as  being  but  one. 

The  territory  claimed  by  the  Miamis  and  Piankishaws  may 
be  generally  stated  as  having  been  bounded  eastwardly  by  the 
Maumee  River  of  Lake  Erie,  and  to  have  included  all  the 
country  drained  by  the  Wabash.  The  Piankishaws  occupied 
the  portion  bordering  on  the  Ohio.  They  granted,  in  1768, 
their  lands  east  of  the  Wabash  to  the  Delawares.  On  the  west 
they  bordered  on  the  Illinois  , the  boundary  line  being  the 
dividing  ridge,  which  separates  the  waters  emptying  into  the 
Saline  Creek  and  the  Kaskaskias  River,  from  those  which  fall 
into  the  Wabash. 

The  Piankishaws  are  the  only  tribe  in  that  quarter  not  men- 
tioned by  the  French  Missionaries,  who  probably  considered 
them  as  part  of  the  Miamis.  That  they  were  closely  con- 
nected is  certain.  For  at  a conference,  held  at  Carlisle,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1753,  with  the  Ohio  Indians  and  the  Six  Nations, 
the  Miamis  or  Twightees  recommended  to  the  other  Indian 
nations,  and  to  the  English,  the  infant  son  of  the  late  chief  of 
the  Piankishaws,  whom  they  call  “ one  of  their  tribes.” 

The  name  of  Twightees  is  that  given  by  the  Six  Nations  to  the 
Miamis,  who,  independent  of  the  Piankishaws,  are  subdivided 
into  three  kindred  and  allied  tribes,  viz.  Miamis  Proper,  Eel 
River,  and  Ouitanons  or  Weas.  Though  already  diminished 
by  wars,  they  were  still  a numerous  nation,  when  first  visited 
by  the  French  missionaries  in  1669  : and  they  continued  a long 
while  in  alliance  with  the  French  and  at  war  with  the  Six  Na- 
tions. But  they  appear  to  have,  at  least  for  a while,  formed  a 
connexion  with  the  last-mentioned  nation.  They  sent  depu- 
ties to  the  treaty  of  Lancaster  of  1748,  who  were  presented 
by  the  Six  Nations,  in  order  that  they  might  be  admitted  into 


64 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


the  British  alliance  as  they  had  been  into  theirs.  This  connex- 
ion appears  to  have  been  dissolved  in  consequence  of  the 
removal  of  the  Delawares  and  Shawnoes  to  the  Ohio.  The 
M iamis  have  taken  an  active  part  in  all  the  wars  against  the 
United  States.  They  have  now  ceded  the  greater  part  of 
their  lands,  and  are  said  including  the  Piankishaws  to  amount 
to  less  than  two  thousand  souls. 

The  Illinois  consisted  of  five  tribes,  to  wit,  the  Kaskaskias, 
Cahokias,  Tamaronas,  Peorias,  and  Mitchigamias.  This  last 
was  a foreign  tribe  admitted  into  their  confederacy,  and  which 
originally  came  from  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  where 
they  lived  on  a small  river  that  bore  their  name.*  They  were 
formerly  the  most  numerous  of  the  western  tribes,  amounting, 
in  1670,  to  ten  or  twelve  thousand  souls.f  But,  attacked  on 
all  sides  by  the  Five  Nations,  by  the  Chickasaws,  and  princi- 
pally by  the  Sauks,  Foxes,  and  Kickapoos,  they  were  ultimate- 
ly almost  entirely  exterminated. 

Originally  they  occupied  the  whole  country  between  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Ohio,  including  both  sides  of  Illinois 
River,  and  bounded  eastwardly  by  the  PiankishawTs  and  Mia- 
mis.  By  the  treaties  of  1803  and  1818,  reduced  to  about 
three  hundred  souls,  they  ceded  all  their  lands  or  claims  to  the 
United  States.  They  had  then  abandoned  every  pretension 
to  the  territory  west  of  Illinois  River  which  had  been  con- 
quered by  the  Sauks  and  Foxes.  But  they  included  in  their 
cession  all  that  lay  east  of  that  river,  as  high  up  as  the  junction 
of  the  Kankakee  and  Maple  Rivers.  The  northern  part  of 
that  country  was,  as  has  been  seen,  claimed  by  the  Kickapoos 
by  right  of  conquest.  Their  claim  to  the  territory  lying  south 
of  the  parallel  of  latitude,  passing  by  the  mouth  of  Illinois 
River,  was  not  disputed  by  any  other  Indian  tribe. 

The  French  had  at  an  early  date  established  themselves  at 
Vincennes,  and  at  Kaskaskias,  and  some  neighbouring  villages  on 
the  Mississippi.  But  the  grants  of  land  obtained  by  them  from 
the  Indians  were  of  very  moderate  extent  ; and  the  western 
tribes,  heretofore  mentioned  under  this  head,  had  not  before 
the  present  century  been  disturbed  in  their  possessions.  The 
diminution  in  their  numbers  was  owing  to  their  intestine  wars, 
and  to  those  of  the  Iroquois,  the  Sioux,  and  the  Chickasaws 
against  them. 


* Charlevoix. 


f Relations  of  New  France,  1671. 


SECT.  II.]  ALG0NK1N-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  65 


Although  the  Shaivnoes  have  been  well  known  to  us  since 

O 

the  year  1680,  their  previous  history  is  very  uncertain,  and  the 
various  notices  we  have  of  them  difficult  to  be  reconciled. 
The  first  mention  we  have  of  them  is  by  De  Laet  in  1632. 
After  having  enumerated  the  various  tribes  on  both  sides  of 
Delaware  River,  he  says,  “some  persons  add  to  them  the 
Shavvanoes,  Capitanasses  &c.”  They  are  mentioned  by  the 
French  under  the  name  of  Cbaouanons,  in  the  year  1672,  as 
being  neighbours  and  allies  of  the  Andastes,  an  extinct  Iroquois 
tribe,  lying  southwest  of  the  Senecas,  by  whom  they  were  de- 
stroyed or  incorporated  in  that  year.*  Their  original  seats  are 
uniformly  placed,  in  all  the  ancient  French  maps,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Ohio  and  extending  southerly  to  the  Cumberland 
River,  which,  in  all  the  French  and  English  maps,  as  late  as 
that  of  Hutchins,  bears  also  their  name.  That  name  which 
means  “ Southern,”  accords  with  that  position.  The  Sauks 
and  Foxes  say,  that  they  were  originally  of  the  same  stock  with 
themselves,  and  had  migrated  to  the  south.f  The  account 
given  by  the  Five  Nations  corroborates  the  fact  of  their  having 
been  in  alliance  with  the  enemies  of  the  Senecas,  and  that  they 
were  but  late  comers  north  of  the  Ohio.  In  the  year  1684,  in 
answer  to  the  complaint  of  the  French,  that  they  had  attacked 
the  Twightees  or  Miamis,  the  Five  Nations  assigned  as  one  of 
the  causes  of  war,  that  the  Twightees  had  invited  into  their 
country  the  Satanas,  in  order  to  make  war  against  them.];  It 
is  also  well  known  that,  when  the  Sbawnoes  of  Pennsylvania 
began,  in  the  year  1740,  to  migrate  to  the  Ohio,  they  were  ob- 
liged to  obtain  a grant  or  permission  to  that  effect  from  the 
Wyandots.  And,  in  a memorandum  annexed  to  the  treaty  of 
Fort  Harrnar  with  the  Wyandots,  of  January,  1789,  they  de- 
clare that  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio,  then  occupied  by  the 
Shawnoes,  is  theirs  (the  Wyandots’)  of  right,  and  that  the 
Sbawnoes  are  only  living  upon  it  by  their  permission. 

Lawson,  in  his  account  of  Carolina,  (1708,)  speaking  of  the 
erratic  habits  of  the  Indian  nations,  says,  that  the  Savanoes 
formerly  lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  that  they  re- 
moved to  the  head  of  one  of  the  rivers  of  South  Carolina, 
since  which  most  of  them  had  gone  to  the  Iroquois  country 


* Charlevoix.  f Morse’s  Report. 

X Satanas  is  the  name  given  by  the  Five  Nations  to  the  Shawnoes. — 
Golden,  chap.  Y.  pp.  69,  70. 

VOL.  II. 


9 


66 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


on  the  beads  of  rivers  emptying  into  the  Chesapeake.  Mr. 
Miller,  President  of  the  Ebenezer  Academy  in  South  Carolina, 
has  given  me  the  following  information.  My  father  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  in  the  Wanhaw  settlement.  I have  heard 
him  frequently  speak  of  cruel  and  bloody  scenes  between  the 
Calawbas  and  Shavvnees.  From  what  1 have  heard  him 
say,  the  Cherokees,  probably  at  an  early  period  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Carolinas,  occupied  a section  of  country  now 
partly  in  York  County,  South  Carolina,  and  partly  in  Meck- 
lenberg,  North  Carolina,  known  in  the  colonial  histories  as 
Craven  County.  The  Cherokees  were  driven  by  the  Shaw- 
nees,  and  the  Shavvnees  were  driven  in  their  turn  by  the 
Catawbas.”  It  is  clear  that  this  Sh'awnoe  settlement  is  the 
same  which  was  mentioned  by  Lawson,  and  that  it  was  situated 
on  the  head  waters  of  the  Catawba  or  Santee,  and  probably 
of  the  Yadkin  or  Pedee. 

Lawson  expressly  distinguishes  those  Savanoes  or  Shawnoes 
settled  on  the  head  of  one  of  the  rivers  of  South  Carolina, 
from  the  Savannahs,  “a  famous  warlike  friendly  nation,  living  to 
the  south  end  of  Ashley  River.”  These  Savannahs  are  men- 
tioned by  the  earliest  Carolina  writers  and  by  Hewatt  under 
the  name  of  Serannas.  That  tribe  was  probably  called  at 
first  Savannahs  by  the  European  settlers  on  account  of  their 
vicinity  to  the  river  of  that  name;  and  they  appear  to  me  to 
be  the  same  which  was  afterwards  designated  by  its  true 
Indian  name  of  Yamassees. 

M’Call,  in  his  “ History  of  Georgia,”  mentions  that,  in  the 
year  1750,  a Quaker  settlement  had  been  formed  west  of  Au- 
gusta, on  a body  of  land,  which  had  formerly  been  owned  by  a 
tribe,  called  the  Savannahs,  who  had  been  compelled  to  abandon 
it,  in  consequence  of  a war  with  the  Uchees,  who  claimed  the 
land  adjoining  them  to  the  southward.  Whether  they  were 
a residue  of  the  Savannahs  formerly  living  south  of  Ashley 
River,  or  of  our  Shawnoes,  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  has  been 
stated  to  me,  on  verbal  but  respectable  authority,  that  some 
Shawnoes  were  for  a while  settled  on  the  Savannah  above 
Augusta ; and  it  is  certain,  that  they  were  at  war  with  the 
Cherokees  and  received  on  friendly  terms  by  the  Creeks. 

.Adair,  who  alludes  to  those  wars  between  the  Shawnoes  and 
the  Cherokees,  met,  about  the  year  1740,  in  the  wilderness 
a large  encampment  of  Shawnoes,  who,  after  having  wandered 


SECT.  If.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  6? 


several  years  in  the  woods,  were  then  returning  to  the  Creek 
country. 

We  know  from  Mr.  Johnston,  the  Indian  Agent,  that  a body 
of  them,  who  had  originally  lived  north  of  the  Ohio,  had,  at 
some  anterior  time  and  from  causes  not  explained,  migrated 
as  far  south  as  the  Suvvanee  river,  which  empties  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  and  is  supposed  to  derive  its  name  from  them  ; 
and  that  they  returned  thence,  about  the  year  1755,  to  the 
vicinity  of  Sandusky,  under  the  conduct  of  a chief  called 
Black  Hoof.  It  has  been  reported,  that  Tecumseh  and  his 
brother,  the  Prophet,  were  sons  of  a Creek  woman  married 
during  that  migration  to  a Shawnoe. 

At  the  time  when  William  Penn  landed  in  Pennsylvania, 
they  were  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  and  have  left 
the  name  of  one  of  their  tribes  (Piqua)  to  a small  river  in 
Lancaster  county.  And  their  name  is  found  in  the  year 
1701,  to  an  agreement  with  William  Penn,  ratifying  a sale 
to  him  of  lands  on  the  Susquehanna  by  the  Conestogo 
Indians.  It  is,  however,  evident  that,  at  that  time,  they  were 
tenants  at  will  under  the  Six  Nations;  and  they  soon  after 
are  found  living  on  a similar  tenure  on  the  western  branches 
of  the  Susquehanna.  Evans,  in  the  Analysis  of  his  Map, 
says  that  their  original  seals  extended  from  Kentucky  river 
southwest  to  the  Mississippi,  that  they  were  afterwards  scattered 
into  all  parts,  and  that,  in  the  year  1755,  they  again  collected 
on  the  Ohio. 

From  these  scattered  notices,  it  may  be  conjectured  that, 
as  stated  by  the  Sauks  and  Foxes,  the  Sbawnoes  separated  at 
an  early  date  from  the  other  Lenape  tribes,  and  established 
themselves  south  of  the  Ohio  in  what  is  now  the  State  of 
Kentucky*;  that,  having  been  driven  away  from  that  territory, 
probably  by  the  Chickasaws  and  Cberokees,  some  portion  of 
them  found  their  way,  during  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  as  far  east  as  the  country  of  the  Susquehannocks,  a 
kindred  Lenape  tribe  ; that  the  main  body  of  the  nation, 
invited  by  the  Miamis  and  the  Andastes,  crossed  the  Ohio, 
occupied  the  country  on  and  adjacent  to  the  Scioto,  and  joined 
in  the  war  against  the  Five  Nations ; and  that,  after  their  final 
defeat  and  that  of  their  allies  in  the  year  1672,  the  dispersion 


* The  name  of  the  river  Kentucky  is  Shawnoese,  and  means,  “ At  the 
head  of  a river.”  See  Johnston’s  Account,  1 Trans.  Am.  Antiq.  Soci- 
ety, p.  299. 


68 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


alluded  to  by  Evans,  took  place.  A considerable  portion 
made  about  that  time  a forcible  settlement  on  the  head  waters 
of  the  rivers  of  Carolina;  and  these,  after  having  been  driven 
away  by  the  Catavvbas,  found,  as  others  had  already  done, 
an  asylum  in  different  parts  of  the  Creek  country.  Another 
portion  joined- their  brethren  in  Pennsylvania;  and  some  may 
have  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Scioto  and  Sandusky. 

Those  in  Pennsylvania,  who  seem  to  have  been  the  most 
considerable  part  of  the  nation,  were  not  entirely  subjuga- 
ted and  reduced  to  the  humiliating  state  of  women  by  the 
Six  Nations.  But  they  held  their  lands  on  the  Susque- 
hanna only  as  tenants  at  will,  and  were  always  obliged  to 
acknowledge  a kind  of  sovereignty  or  superiority  in  then- 
landlords.  They  appear  to  have  been  more  early  and  more 
unanimous  than  the  Delawares,  in  their  determination  to  return 
to  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio.  This  they  effected  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Wyandots,  and  on  the  invitation  of  the 
French,  during  the  years  1740  — 1755.  They  occupied  there 
the  Scioto  country,  extending  to  Sandusky,  and  westwardly 
towards  the  Great  Miami,  and  they  have  also  left  there  the 
names  of  two  of  their  tribes,  to  wit,  Chillicothe  and  Piqua. 
Those  who  were  settled  amongst  the  Creeks  joined  them  ; and 
the  nation  was  once  more  reunited. 

During  the  forty  following  years,  they  were  in  an  almost 
perpetual  state  of  war  with  America,  either  as  British  Colonies, 
or  as  independent  States.  They  were  among  the  most  active 
allies  of  the  French  during  the  seven  years’  war,  and,  after 
the  conquest  of  Canada,  continued,  in  concert  with  the  Del- 
awares, hostilities  which  were  only  terminated  after  the  suc- 
cessful campaign  of  General  Bouquet.  The  first  permanent 
settlements  of  the  Americans  beyond  the  Alleghany  mountains, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ohio,  were  commenced  in  the  year  1769, 
and  were  almost  immedately  attended  with  a new  war  with 
the  Shawnoes,  which  ended  in  1774,  after  they  had  been 
repulsed  in  a severe  engagement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanhawa, 
and  the  Virginians  had  penetrated  into  their  country.  They 
took  a most  active  part  against  America,  both  during  the  war 
of  Independence,  and  in  the  Indian  war  which  followed,  and 
which  was  terminated  in  1795,  by  the  treaty  of  Greenville. 
They  lost,  by  that  treaty,  nearly  the  whole  territory  which 
they  held  from  the  Wyandots;  and  a part  of  them,  under 
the  guidance  of  Tecumseh,  again  joined  the  British  standard 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  69 


during  the  last  war.  They  are  now  much  dispersed ; the 
greater  part  have  removed  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
number  of  these  is  estimated  at  about  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred souls. 

We  have  not  so  copious  a vocabulary  of  their  language  as 
might  have  been  expected.  That  which  is  appended  has 
been  chiefly  extracted  from  that  taken  by  Mr.  Johnston,  the 
Indian  Agent.  The  other  words  have  been  supplied  from 
Mr.  Jefferson’s  mutilated  manuscript  vocabulary,  from  the 
Mithridates,  General  Parsons,  Smith  Barton,  &c. 


IROQUOIS  TRIBES. 

The  northern  Iroquois  tribes  consisted  of  two  distinct 
divisions  ; the  eastern,  forming  the  confederation,  known  by 
the  name  of  Five  Nations,  whose  original  territory  did  not 
extend  westwardly  farther  than  the  western  boundary  of 
Pennsylvania  ; and  the  western,  consisting,  as  far  as  can  be 
ascertained,  of  four  nations  : the  Wyandots,  or  Hurons,  and 
the  Attiouandarons,  or  Neutral  Nation,  north;  the  Erigas  and 
the  Andastes  or  Guandastogues  (Guyandots),  south  of  Lake 
Erie. 

When  Champlain  arrived  in  Canada,  the  Five  Nations  were 
engaged  in  a deadly  war  with  all  the  Algonkin  tribes  within 
their  reach.  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  Wyandots,  another 
Iroquois  nation,  were  the  head  and  principal  support  of  the 
Algonkin  confederacy.  The  extent  of  their  influence  and 
of  the  consideration  in  which  they  were  held,  may  be  found 
in  the  fact,  that  even  the  Delawares,  who  claimed  to  be  the 
elder  branch  of  the  Lenape  Nation  and  called  themselves  the 
grandfathers  of  their  kindred  tribes,  recoguised  the  superiority 
of  the  Wyandots,  whom  to  this  day  they  call  their  uncles. 
And  though  reduced  to  a very  small  number,  the  right  of  the 
Wyandots,  derived  either  from  ancient  sovereignty,  or  from 
the  incorporation  of  the  remnants  of  the  three  extinct  tribes, 
to  the  country  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio,  from  the 
Alleghany  river  to  the  great  Miami,  has  never  been  disputed 
by  any  other  than  the  Five  Nations. 

Their  real  name,  Yendots,  was  well  known  to  the  French, 
who  gave  them  the  nickname  of  Hurons.  They  were  called 


70 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


Quatoghee  by  the  Five  Nations ; and  one  of  their  tribes, 
Dionondadies  or  Tuinontatek.  They  were  visited  in  1615 
by  Champlain,  and,  in  1624,  by  Father  Sagard.  And  the 
Jesuits,  who  subsequently  established  missions  among  them, 
have  given,  in  the  “ Relations  of  New  France,”  some  account 
of  their  language,  and  ample  information  of  their  means  of  sub- 
sistence, manners,  and  religious  creed  or  superstitions.  They 
had,  probably  on  account  of  their  wars  with  the  Five  Nations, 
concentrated  their  settlements  in  thirty-one  villages,  not  extend- 
ing more  altogether  than  twenty  leagues  either  way,  and  sit- 
uated along  or  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Huron,  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  southwardly  of  the  mouth  of  French  River.  They 
consisted  of  five  confederated  tribes,  viz.  the  Ataronch- ronons, 
four  villages  ; the  AttiquenongnaKai,  three  villages  ; the  Attig- 
naouentan,  or  “Nation  de  l’Ours,”  twelve  villages  ; the  Ahren- 
dah- ronons,  the  most  northeastern  tribe  and  that  with  which 
Champlain  resided,  three  villages;  and  the  Tionontate,  or 
“ Nation  of  the  Petun,”  the  most  southwesterly,  which  former- 
ly had  been  at  war  with  the  other  tribes,  and  had  entered  the 
confederation  recently,  nine  villages.* 

The  smallpox  carried  off  about  twelve  hundred  souls  in  the 
year  1639.  The  Missionaries,  principally  with  a view  of  bap- 
tizing dying  children,  visited  at  that  time  every  village,  and,  with 
few  exceptions,  every  cabin  ; and  embraced  the  opportunity  of 
making  a complete  enumeration  of  the  whole  nation.  They 
give  the  general  result  in  round  numbers,  seven  hundred  cabins 
and  two  thousand  families,  which  they  estimate  at  twelve,  but 
which  could  not  have  exceeded  ten  thousand  souls. f They  were 
not  only  more  warlike,  but,  in  every  respect,  more  advanced  in 
civilization  than  the  Northern  Algonkins,  particularly  in  agri- 
culture, to  which  they  appear,  probably  from  their  concentrated 
situation,  to  have  been  obliged  to  attend  more  extensively  than 
any  other  northern  Indian  nation.  The  Missionaries  had  at 
first  great  hardships  to  encounter,  and  found  them  less  tractable 
than  the  Algonkins.  But,  whether  owing  to  the  superior  talents 
of  Father  Brebeuf,  and  his  associates,  or  to  the  national 
character,  they  made  ultimately  more  progress  in  converting 
the  Hurons,  and  have  left  a more  permanent  impression  of 
their  labors  in  the  remnant  of  that  tribe,  than  appears  to  have 
been  done  by  them,  in  any  other  nation  without  the  boundaries 
of  the  French  settlements. 


* Father  Lallemand,  1640.  Relations,  &c. 


f Ibid. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  71 

The  only  communication  of  the  Hurons,  with  the  infant 
colony  of  Canada,  was  by  the  river  Ottawa,  of  a difficult  navi- 
gation interrupted  by  numerous  portages.  The  Five  Nations 
directed  their  attacks  to  that  quarter,  cut  off  the  several  trading 
parties,  which  were  in  the  habit  of  descending  and  ascending 
the  river  once  a year,  and  intercepted  the  communication  so 
effectually,  that,  about  the  year  1646,  the  Missionaries  on  Lake 
Huron  were  three  years  without  receiving  any  supplies  from 
Quebec.  The  Hurons  who  had  lost  several  hundred  warriors 
in  those  engagements  became  dispirited  and  careless.  They 
indeed  abandoned  the  smaller  villages  and  fortified  the  larger. 
This  only  accelerated  their  ruin.  In  the  year  1649,  the  Five 
Nations  invaded  the  country  with  all  their  forces,  attacked  and 
carried  one  after  the  other  the  most  considerable  of  those 
places  of  refuge,  and  massacred  all  the  inhabitants.*  The 
destruction  was  completed  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  year. 
A part  of  the  Hurons  fled  down  the  Ottawa  River  and  sought 
an  asylum  in  Canada,  where  they  were  pursued  by  their  im- 
placable enemies  even  under  the  walls  of  Quebec.  The  greater 
part  of  the  Ahrendas,f  and  several  detached  bands,  surrender- 
ed and  were  incorporated  into  the  Five  Nations.  The  remnant 
of  the  Tionontates  took  refuge  amongst  the  Chippeways  of 
Lake  Superior.  Others  were  dispersed  towards  Michilirnackin- 
ac,  or  in  some  more  remote  quarters.  This  event  was  immedi- 
ately followed,  as  has  already  been  stated,  by  the  dispersion  of 
the  Algonkin  Nations  of  the  Ottawa  River. 

In  1671  the  Tionontates,  after  an  unsuccessful  war  with  the 
Sioux,  left  Lake  Superior  for  Michilimackinac,  where  they 
rallied  around  them  the  dispersed  remnants  of  the  other  tribes 
of  their  nation,  and  probably  of  the  Andastes  and  other  kin- 
dred tribes,  which  had  been  likewise  nearly  exterminated  by 
the  Five  Nations.  Some  years  later  they  removed  to  Detroit, 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  ancient  seats.  And,  though  reduced  to 
two  villages,  they  resumed  their  ascendency  over  the  Algonkin 
tribes  and  acted  a conspicuous  part  with  great  sagacity  in  the 
ensuing  conflicts  between  the  French  and  the  Five  Nations. 


* The  two  Missionaries,  Brebeuf  and  Lallemand,  Jr.,  were  made 
prisoners  and  burnt  alive  by  the  Iroquois.  Eight  or  ten  Jesuits  were 
killed  in  Canada,  at  different  times,  whilst  on  their  missionary  duties. 

f Charlevoix  says  the  villages  of  St.  John  and  St.  Michel.  These  were 
names  imposed  by  the  Missionaries,  and,  as  appears  by  the  Relations, 
both  places  were  inhabited  by  that  tribe. 


72 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES. 


[iNTROD. 


Charlevoix,  in  1721,  writes,  that  they  were  still  the  soul  of  the 
councils  of  all  the  Western  Indians.  Still  assuming  the  right 
of  sovereignty  over  the  country  between  the  Lakes  and  the 
Ohio,  as  far  west  as  the  Miami,  they  encouraged  the  Sbawnoes 
and  the  Delawares  to  remove  to  the  Ohio,  by  granting  to  them 
the  possession,  though  not  the  right  to  the  soil,  ol  the  territory 
west  of  Alleghany  River,  bordering  principally  on  Lake  Erie, 
the  Muskingum,  and  the  Scioto.  This  last  river  is  particularly 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Jobnston,  the  Indian  Agent,  as  having  re- 
ceived its  name  from  them  and  belonging  to  them. 

It  has  been  seen,  that  Pennsylvania  thought  it  necessary  to 
obtain  a deed  of  cession  from  the  Wyandots  for  the  north- 
western part  of  the  State.  The  treaty  of  Greenville  was 
signed  by  all  the  nations  which  had  taken  part  in  the  war. 
But  it  was  from  the  Wyandots,  that  the  United  States  obtained 
the  cession  of  the  territory,  west  of  the  Connecticut  Reserve, 
lying  between  the  northern  boundary  line  of  that  ceded  by  that 
treaty  and  Lake  Erie.*  Those  remaining  in  the  United  States, 
and  till  lately  at  Sandusky,  on  the  Scioto,  and  near  Detroit,  are 
said  not  to  amount  to  one  thousand  souls.  A still  less  consid- 
erable part  of  the  nation,  which  took  part  with  the  British 
during  the  last  war,  resides  in  Canada. 

The  vocabulary  is  principally  extracted  from  that  supplied 
by  Mr.  Johnston,  with  some  additions  from  Smith  Barton,  and 
from  a collection  of  sentences  in  the  War  Department.  A 
specimen  is  also  given  of  the  ancient  Huron  from  the  vocabu- 
lary of  Sagard,  which  would  have  been  farther  extended  if  full 
confidence  could  have  been  placed  in  his  knowledge  of  the 
language.-)- 

Father  Brebeuf  was  sent  in  the  year  1641,  on  a mission  to 
the  Attiouandas,  who  were  seated  south  of  the  Wyandots  on 
the  northern  shores  of  Lake  Erie.  But  we  know  nothing  of 
their  language,  except  that  it  was  a dialect  of  the  Huron. 
That  tribe  was,  on  account  of  the  strict  neutrality  it  preserved 
during  the  wars  between  the  Five  Nations  and  the  Hurons, 

* Treaty  of  29th  of  September,  1817,  Article  V.  The  Miami  of 
Lake  Erie,  and  its  branch,  the  St.  Mary’s,  are  there  specified  as  their 
western  boundary.  The  St.  Mary’s  was  to  its  mouth  the  line 
between  them  and  the  Miamis. 

f Since  this  paper  was  completed,  I have  been  informed  that  there 
is  a vocabulary  and  grammar  of  the  Wyandot  language  in  the  li- 
brary of  Yale  College.  Mr.  Johnston’s  Vocabulary  is  contained  in 
1 Trans.  Am.  Antiq.  Society,  p.  292. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  73 


generally  known  by  the  name  of  “ the  Neutral  Nation.”  Their 
policy  did  not  preserve  them  from  destruction,  which  soon  fol- 
lowed that  of  their  kindred  tribe.  The  only  further  notice  we 
have  of  them  is,  that,  in  the  year  1669,  Father  Fremin,  whilst 
on  an  unsuccessful  mission  amongst  the  Five  Nations,  came  to 
a village  named  Gandougarac,  inhabited  by  a remnant  of  that 
nation  and  by  some  Hurons,  who  were  living  there  under  the 
control  of  the  Senecas. 

The  Eries,  Erigas,  or  Cat  Nation,  were  seated  on  the  south- 
ern shores  of  the  lake  which  still  bears  their  name.  The 
French  never  had  any  mission  amongst  them.  We  only  know 
that  they  were  an  Iroquois  tribe,  and  that  they  were  destroyed, 
in  1655,  by  the  Five  Nations.  Charlevoix  gives  the  date,  and 
Evans  mentions  the  fact. 

The  Andastes  or  Guandastogues  were  a more  formidable 
nation  ; and  the  war  of  the  Five  Nations  against  them  appears 
to  have  lasted  more  than  twenty  years.  Although  the  French 
Missionaries  never  penetrated  amongst  them,  those  who  resided 
amongst  the  Five  Nations  repeatedly  allude  to  the  alternate 
successes  of  the  war.  They  saw  and  conversed  with  many  of 
the  prisoners,  who  were  always  put  to  death,  and  ascertained 
that  their  language  was  an  Iroquois  dialect.  As  far  as  can  be 
collected  from  their  notices,  the  Andastes  were  seated  on  the 
Alleghany  River,  extending  thence  westwardly  along  the  Ohio. 

Father  Lallemand,  in  the  Relation  of  the  year  1663,  states 
that,  in  the  month  of  April,  eight  hundred  warriors  of  the 
Five  Nations  had  proceeded  from  the  western  extremity  of 
Lake  Ontario  to  a fine  river,  nearly  equal  ( semblable ) to  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  navigation  of  which  is  free  of  falls,  and  which 
they  descended  one  hundred  leagues  to  the  Andastogue  vil- 
lage. He  must  have  meant  the  principal  village,  and  it  could 
not  have  been  far  from  the  site  of  Pittsburgh.  The  village 
was  well  fortified  and  the  aggressors  were  repulsed.  But, 
though  assisted  by  the  Shawnoes  and  the  Miamis,  the  Andas- 
tes were  finally  destroyed  in  the  year  1672.*  It  seems 
probable  that  they  were  a kindred  tribe  of  the  Wyandots,  and 
that  which  left  the  name  of  Guyandot  to  one  of  the  southern 
tributaries  of  the  Ohio.  < 


* Charlevoix. 


VOL.  II. 


10 


74 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES. 


[iNTROD. 


The  confederacy  known  generally  by  the  name  of  “ Five 
Nations,”  called  by  the  French  “ Iroquois,”  by  the  Lenape 
tribes  JMcujuas  or  JS'lcnque  (Mingos),  in  V irginia  Massowomeks , 
in  various  places  by  the  names  more  or  less  corrupted  of 
their  respective  tribes,  consisted,  as  the  name  imports',  of  five 
nations,  seated  south  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence  and  of  Lake 
Ontario,  and  extending  from  the  Hudson  to  ihe  upper  branch- 
es of  the  river  Alleghany  and  to  Lake  Erie.  It  has  been 
doubted  whether  Hocheiaga  now  Montreal,  which  Cartier 
found,  in  1535,  inhabited  by  Indians  speaking  a dialect  of  the 
Iroquois  language,  was  occupied  by  the  Hurons,  or  by  the 
Five  Nations.  Independent  of  the  much  greater  proximity 
of  these,  the  question  seems  to  be  definitively  settled  by  the 
declarations  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Algonkins,  who  cultivated 
nothing,  to  Father  Le  Jeune.  In  the  course  ol  his  excursions 
between  Quebec  and  the  site  of  Montreal,  they  pointed  out  to 
him  several  old  fields,  and  informed  him  that  they  had  formerly 
been  planted  in  maize  by  the  Iroquois.*  It  is  therefore  certain, 
that,  within  less  than  seventy  years  before  the  arrival  of  Cham- 
plain in  Canada,  the  Five  Nations  either  were  driven  from 
settlements  they  previously  had  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  or  vol- 
untarily abandoned  them  in  order  to  concentrate  their  forces 
and  to  be  less  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  their  enemies. 

Their  five  tribes  were,  from  east  to  west,  the  Mohawks, 
the  Oneidas,  the  Qnondagas,  the  Cayugas,  and  the  Senecas. 
The  lime  when  the  confederacy  was  formed  is  not  known,  but 
was  presumed  to  be  of  a recent  date,  and  the  Oneidas  and 
Cayugas  are  said  to  have  been  compelled  to  join  it.  Although 
the  fact  has  been  questioned,  it  is  proved  by  the  speeches  of 
the  several  orators  at  the  treaty  of  Easton  of  1758,  that  those 
two  tribes  were  the  younger,  and  the  three  others  the  elder 
members  of  the  confederacy.  The  residue  of  the  Tuscaro- 
ras  of  North  Carolina  were,  after  their  decisive  defeat  in 
1712-13,  admitted  as  a sixth  nation.  And  at  the  treaty  of 
Easton  it  was  announced  to  the  British,  that  the  confedera- 
tion now  consisted  of  eight  nations,  the  three  elder  as  already 
stated,  and  the  five  younger  viz.  the  Cayugas,  the  Oneidas,  the 

* Relations  of  New  France,  1636.  The  word  “ Iroquois  ” is  used 
in  this  essay  as  a generic  term,  embracing  all  the  nations  speaking 
dialects  of  the  same  language,  and  applicable  to  all  those  dialects. 
It  is  confined  by  the  French  to  the  Five  Nations. 


SECT.  XI.]  ALGONKIN-LENATE  ANII  XROXXUOIS  NATIONS.  75 


Tuscaroi'as,  the  Nanticokes  and  Conoys,  making  but  one  nation, 
and  the  Tuteloes.*  But  the  Nanticokes  and  Conoys  removed 
to  the  west  not  long  after,  and  the  Tuteloes  do  not  afterwards 
appear  as  a distinct  nation. 

The  Five  Nations  had  already  acquired  a decided  superiority 
over  the  other  Indians,  before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans. 
They  were  at  that  epoch  at  war  with  all  the  surrounding  tribes, 
with  perhaps  the  single  exception  of  the  Andastes  on  the  west. 
That  in  which  they  were  engaged  towards  the  north,  with  the 
Hurons  and  Algonkins,  was  still  attended  with  alternate  success 
on  each  side.  But  southwardly  they  had  already  carried  their 
arms  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna  and  the  vicinity 
of  Newcastle  on  the  Delaware,  and  had  become  an  object  of 
terror  to  all  the  Indians,  from  the  sources  of  the  Potomac  and 
even  farther  south,  to  the  Merrijnac  and  the  Piscataway. 

For  this  ascendency  several  causes  may  be  assigned.  Their 
geographical  position  was  fortunate,  and  they  had  the  wisdom, 
instead  of  extending  and  spreading  themselves,  to  remain  con- 
centrated even  at  the  time  of  their  greatest  successes  in  their 
primitive  seats.  They  were  there  protected  against  any  sud- 
den or  dangerous  attack,  on  the  south  by  wide  ranges  of 
mountains,  on  the  north  by  Lake  Ontario.  What  was  of  still 
greater  importance,  particularly  in  savage  warfare,  they  were 
without  doubt  more  brave  and  more  ferocious  than  any  of  the 
other  nations.  They  were  also  further  advanced  in  agriculture, 
in  the  fabrication  of  their  weapons,  and  in  the  few  arts  ol  the 
Indians,  than  those  of  the  Algonkin-Lenape  stock.  On  all 
occasions  they  discovered  a greater  degree  ol  cultivated  intelli- 
gence, in  no  instances  more  than  in  the  formation  and  long 
continuance  of  their  confederacy,  and  in  attacking  by  turns  the 
unconnected  and  disunited  petty  tribes  by  which  they  were 
surrounded. 

The  superiority  of  the  Iroquois  tribes  generally  over  the 
Algonkins  appears  indeed  incontestable,  and  to  have  been  part- 
ly due  to  the  great  subdivision  oi  these  into  sinail  independent 
communities.  They  were  far  more  numerous,  and  yet,  every- 
where, we  find  a prevailing  Iroquois  tribe,  more  powerful  and 
populous  than  any  of  its  neighbours  ol  another  stock , in 
North  Carolina,  the  Tuscaroras  \ in  Canada,  the  Hurons  , above 
all,  the  Five  Nations.  The  disproportion  between  the  population 


* Takaio’s  speech,  at  that  treaty. 


76 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES. 


[iNTROD. 


of  these,  and  that  of  their  enemies  taken  in  the  aggregate,  is 
often  adverted  to  by  the  contemporary  writers.  And  we  are 
astonished  to  find  that,  at  no  time,  the  numbers  of  their  war- 
riors could  have  amounted  to  five,  and  that  about  the  year 
1670,  they  were  less  than  four  thousand.* 

The  intercourse  with  the  Europeans,  in  its  beginning,  in- 
creased the  relative  superiority  of  the  Five  Nations  and  gave 
them  a decided  advantage  over  their  enemies.  The  western 
Indians  were,  for  a long  while  after,  altogether  destitute  of  fire- 
arms. The  lower  Algonkins  were  indeed  partially  supplied 
by  the  French  ; but  in  New  England  every  precaution  was 
taken  to  prevent  the  Indians  in  their  vicinity  from  being  armed  ; 
and  the  Delawares  could  not  have  been  supplied  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Svvedes.f  In  the  mean  while,  the  Dutch,  princi- 
pally intent  on  trade,  and  who  had  a post  at  Albany  as  early 
as  the  year  1614,  furnished  the  Mohawks  and  gradually  the 
other  Five  Nations  with  ample  supplies  of  firearms  and  am- 
munition. 

The  Five  Nations,  without  discontinuing  their  warfare  with 
the  Mohicans  and  Delawares,  soon  turned  their  principal  efforts 
against  those  nations  of  their  own  stock  which  were  their  most 
formidable  enemies. 

The  destruction  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Hurons  (Wyan- 
dots)  took  place  in  1649;  the  dispersion  of  the  residue  and  of 
the  Algonkins  of  the  Ottawa  River,  in  the  ensuing  year.  It  is 
probable,  that  the  general  terror  inspired  by  those  events  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  the  final  submission  of  the  Delawares, 
already  hard  pressed  ; and  that,  being  no  longer  in  need  of  the 
fort  near  Christina,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  them  in  check, 
the  Five  Nations  evacuated  it  in  1651,  and  sold  the  adjacent 
land  to  the  Dutch.  The  capture  of  the  principal  village  of 
the  neutral  nation,  the  incorporation  of  a portion  of  that  tribe, 
and  the  dispersion  of  the  rest,  are  stated  as  having  also  hap- 

Relations,  passim.  That  of  the  year  1660  estimates  them  at  only 
two  thousand  two  hundred;  but  the  letters  of  the  Missionaries  for  that 
year  are  not  given,  rhe  Relation  was  written  in  France,  and  there 
was  a motive  for  underrating  them.  The  Mohawks  are  uniformly 
stated  as  having  seven  hundred  warriors.  And  in  1654  - 5,  the  three 
western  nations  had  eighteen  hundred  engaged  against  the  Eries 
alone. 

f Mr.  Heckewelder  informs  us,  that  the  name  of  Sankhicans  was 
given  by  the  Delawares  to  the  Mohawks,  because  they  were  armed 
with  muskets. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQ.UOIS  NATIONS.  77 

pened  in  1651.  The  war  against  the  Eries  appears  to  have 
beo-uri  in  1653,  and  to  have  ended  in  their  destruction  in  1655. 
That  with  the  Andastes  is  first  mentioned  under  the  date  of 
1656,  and  was  not  terminated  by  their  final  ruin  before  1672. 
During  the  same  period  the  Five  Nations  were,  with  but  short 
intervals  of  doubtful  peace,  at  war  not  only  with  the  northern 
Algonkins  and  the  French,  but  also  with  the  Mahingans. 
And  they  had  carried  their  arms  against  the  Miamis  and  the 
Ottawas  of  Michigan  as  early  as  the  year  1657.* 

The  acquisition  of  New  York  by  the  British  in  a short  time 
gave  peace  to  the  Lenape  tribes  of  that  province,  and  generally 
to  those  who  were  under  the  immediate  protection  of  any 
of  the  British  Colonies.  But  the  destruction  of  the  Susque- 
hannocks,  and  probably  that  of  the  more  remote  western  tribes  of 
Virginia,  alluded  to  at  the  conferences  of  Lancaster  in  1744,  took 
place  before  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  appears  from 
Lawsonr  that,  in  1701,  the  excursions  of  the  Senecas  extended 
southwardly  to  the  upper  waters  of  Cape  Fear  River.  And  from 
that  time  they  had  continual  wars  with  the  Cherokees  and  the 
Catawbas.  Their  hatred  against  this  last  nation  was  most 
inveterate  and  mutual.  The  only  condition  in  the  arrangement 
of  Lancaster  with  Virginia,  in  the  year  1744,  on  which  the 
Five  Nations  absolutely  insisted,  was  the  continued  privilege  of 
a war  path  through  the  ceded  territory  to  the  Catawba  coun- 
try. The  most  insulting  messages  of  defiance  passed  between 
those  two  nations,  at  the  conferences  of  Carlisle  of  1753;  and 
to  that  war  the  ultimate  annihilation  of  the  Catawbas  may  be 
principally  ascribed. 

The  Five  Nations  continued  their  warfare,  during  the  same 
period,  against  the  Illinois,  the  Miamis,  and  the  other  western 
nations  in  alliance  with  the  French.  But  they  followed  there 
the  same  policy  which  they  had  pursued  in  other  quarters; 
and,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  had  formed  alliances  with  the 
Sokokies,the  Mississagues,  and  the  Nanticokes,  they  seized  the 
opportunities,  offered  by  collisions  between  the  French  and  the 
Twigbtees  or  Miamis,  occasionally  to  detach  these  from  their 
connexion.  The  occupation  of  the  intervening  territory  by  the 
Shawnoes  and  the  Delawares,  which  defeated  those  plans,  was 


* With  the  exception  of  the  subjugation  of  the  Andastes,  in  1672, 
■which  is  given  by  Charlevoix,  all  the  other  dates  in  this  paragraph 
are  taken  from  the  Relations  of  New  France. 


78 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


equally  dangerous  to  the  British  interest  and  to  that  of  the  Six 
ISations.  They  showed  in  that  instance  more  foresight  than 
the  colonial  governments.  As  early  as  the  year  1742,  at  the 
same  treaty  in  which  they  harshly  reproved  the  Delawares  for 
claiming  lands  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  formerly 
sold  by  them,  they  remonstrated  against  the  encroachments 
made  north  of  the  boundary  line  on  the  Juniatta  and  on  the 
Susquehanna,  which  were  injurious  to  their  cousins  the  Dela- 
wares. Those  remonstrances  were  several  times  repeated,  and 
particularly  at  the  conferences  of  Philadelphia  of  the  year 
1749;  and  they  may  be  summed  up  in  the  speech  delivered  by 
the  Mohawk  orator  at  the  Conferences  of  Harris’s  Ferry  and 
Lancaster  of  1757. 

“ In  former  times  our  forefathers  conquered  the  Delawares, 
and  put  petticoats  on  them.  A long  time  after  that,  they  lived 
among  you,  and.  upon  some  differences  between  them  and  you, 
we  thought  proper  to  remove  them,  giving  them  lands  to  plant  and 
hunt  on  at  Wyoming  and  Juniatta.  But  you,  covetous  of  land, 
made  plantations  there  and  spoiled  their  hunting.  They  com- 
plained to  us,  and  we  found  their  complaints  true.  You  drove 
them  into  the  arms  of  the  French.  It  is  our  advice  that  you 
send  for  the  Senecas  and  them,  treat  them  kindly,  and  give  them 
back  some  part  of  their  lands,  rather  than  differ  with  them.  It 
is  in  your  power  to  settle  the  difference  with  them  if  you 
please.”  The  Mohawk  chief  then  informed  the  government 
of  Pennsylvania  of  a growing  intimacy  of  the  Senecas  with 
the  Shawnoes  and  Delawares.* 

The  conspicuous  part  which  the  Six  Nations  had  acted 
during  the  eighty  preceding  years,  in  the  contest  between  the 
two  great  European  powers  of  North  America,  is  well  known  ; 
and  that  they  almost  alone  were  a counterpoise  to  the  general 
influence  of  France  over  the  other  Indian  nations.  They  gave 
in  the  course  of  it  repeated  proofs  of  their  sagacity.  But  it 
may  be  doubted,  whether  the  Senecas,  on  that  occasion,  had 
really  anticipated  the  consequences  that  must  follow  the  com- 
plete success  of  the  British  arms.  That  there  was  some 
division  among  the  Six  Nations  is  certain  ; and,  notwithstanding 
the  practice  of  incorporating  the  residue  of  conquered  tribes, 
their  perpetual  wars  had  by  this  time  considerably  reduced 


'*  Probably  that  portion  known  in  the  west  by  the  name  of  Mingos. 


SECT.  II.]  ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  79 

their  numbers.  It  is  still  astonishing,  that  they  could,  in  1756, 
have  been  reduced  to  twelve  hundred  warriors,  as  they  are 
estimated  in  Smith’s  “ History  of  New  York.”  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  fact  in  that  respect,  with  the  expulsion  of  the 
French  from  Canada  their  importance  ceased  ; it  became  the 
interest  of  Great  Britain  to  preserve  peace  with  the  other 
Indian  nations,  and  the  thirst  for  war  of  the  Six  Nations  had 
no  longer  any  aliment. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Oneidas,  they  took  arms  against 
America  during  the  war  of  Independence.  But  the  Mohawks 
were  obliged  (1780)  to  abandon  their  seats  and  to  take  refuge 
in  Canada.  Those  who  remained  in  the  United  States  have 
been  perfectly  peaceable  since  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1783. 
They  were  estimated  in  1796  at  three  thousand  three  hundred 
souls  ; * and  those  in  Canada,  at  about  seven  hundred.  But 
according  to  the  late  estimate  of  the  War  Department,  those 
in  the  State  of  New  York  amount  to  four  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixteen,  at  Green  Bay  to  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-five,  beyond  the  Mississippi  to  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
five,  in  all  about  five  thousand  nine  hundred  ; which,  deducting 
the  Nanticokes,  Mohicans,  and  Shawnoes  mixed  with  them, 
would  leave  five  thousand.  If  to  these  we  add  the  Wyandots 
and  those  in  Canada,  the  remnant  of  all  the  Iroquois  tribes 
cannot  much  exceed  seven  thousand  souls-  They  amounted 
in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  to  forty  thousand. 
Their  destruction  has  been  almost  exclusively  the  result  of  wars 
among  themselves,  or  against  other  Indian  nations.  With  the 
single  exception  of  the  Mohawks,  no  encroachment  had  been 
made  on  the  native  possessions  of  the  Five  Nations  before  the 
year  1783  ; and  their  number  has  not  been  diminished  since 
that  time. 

The  history  of  the  Five  Nations  is  calculated  to  give  a 
favorable  opinion  of  the  intelligence  of  the  Red  Man.  But 
they  may  be  ranked  amongst  the  worst  of  conquerors.  They 
conquered  only  in  order  to  destroy,  and,  it  would  seem,  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  their  thirst  for  blood.  Towards  the 
south  and  the  west,  they  made  a perfect  desert  of  the  whole 
country  within  five  hundred  miles  of  their  seats.  A much 
greater  number  of  those  Indians,  who,  since  the  commencement 


* Report  of  Commissioners  of  the  Missionary  Society,  1 Mass.  Hist 
Coll.  Vol.  V. 


80 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


of  the  seventeenth  century  have  perished  by  the  sword  in 
Canada  and  the  United  States,  have  been  destroyed  by  that 
single  nation,  than  in  all  their  wars  with  the  Europeans. 

But,  instead  of  exerting  their  influence  in  assuaging  the 
passions  of  the  Indians  and  in  promoting  peace  amongst  them, 
the  European  governments,  intent  only  on  the  acquisition  of 
territory  and  power,  encouraged  their  natural  propensities. 
Both  France  and  England  courted  a disgraceful  alliance  with 
savages;  and  both,  under  the  usual  pleas  of  self-defence  and 
retaliation,  armed  them  against  the  defenceless  inhabitants  of 
the  other  party.  The  sack  of  Schenectady,  the  desolation  of 
the  island  of  Montreal,  the  murdering  expeditions  on  the 
frontiers  of  New  England,  are  related  by  the  respective  histo- 
rians with  indifference,  if  not  with  exultation.  No  scruple  was 
felt  in  inducing  all  the  Indian  tribes  to  carry  on  against  America 
their  usual  warfare,  and  to  desolate,  without  discrimination  of 
age  or  sex,  the  whole  extent  of  a frontier  of  twelve  hundred 
miles  during  the  seven  years  of  the  war  of  Independence. 

The  United  States  are  at  least  free  from  that  reproach.  If 
their  population  has  pressed  too  fast  on  the  natives,  if  oc- 
casionally they  have  too  forcibly  urged  purchases  of  land,  their 
government,  ever  since  they  were  an  independent  nation,  has 
not  only  used  every  endeavour  to  be  at  peace  with  the  Indians, 
but  has  succeeded  in  preventing  war  amongst  them  to  a de- 
gree heretofore  unknown  in  America.  And,  at  Ghent,  they 
proposed  an  article  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  by  which  both 
nations  should  engage,  if  unfortunately  they  were  again  at  war, 
never  to  employ  the  savages  as  auxiliaries.  We  trust  that 
under  any  contingency,  the  two  nations  will  act  as  if  the  arti- 
cle had  been  made  a condition  of  the  treaty. 

The  vocabulary  of  the  Onondagas  was  extracted  by  Mr. 
Duponceau  from  Zeisberger’s  Manuscript  Dictionary.  That 
of  the  Mohawks  was  taken  by  Mr.  S.  E.  Dwight,  of  New 
H aven,  assisted  by  Mr.  J.  Parish.  That  of  the  Senecas  was 
received  through  the  War  Department.  Mr.  Jefferson’s  mutila- 
ted vocabulary  has  supplied  part  of  the  words  in  the  vocabula- 
ry of  the  Oneidas.  The  others,  and  all  those  in  the  Cayuga 
dialect,  were  taken  from  Smith  Barton. 


The  southern  Iroquois  tribes  occupied  Chowan  River  and  its 
tributary  streams.  They  were  bounded,  on  the  east,  by  the 


SECT.  II. j ALGONKIN-LENAPE  AND  IROQUOIS  NATIONS.  81 

most  .southerly  Lenape  tribes,  who  were  in  possession  qf  the 
low  country  along  the  seashores,  anil  those  of  Albemarle  and 
Pamlico  Sounds.  Towards  the  south  and  t lie  west  they  ex- 
tended beyond  the  river  Neuse.  They  appear  to  have  been 
known  in- Virginia,  in  early  times,  under  the  name  of  Monacans, 
as  far  north  as  James  River. 

A powerful  chief  of  the  Chowans  is  mentioned  in  the  ac- 
counts of  the  first  attempts  to  establish  a colony  on  Roanoke 
Island  and  its  vicinity.  Lawson,  in  his  account  of  the  North 
Carolina  Indians,  enumerates  the  Chowans,  the  Meherrins,  and 
the  Nottoways,  as  having  together  ninety-five  warriors  in  the 
year  1708.  Rut  the  Meherrins  or  Tuteloes  and  the  Notto- 
ways inhabited  respectively  the  two  rivers  of  that  name,  and 
were  principally  seated  in  Virginia.  We  have  but  indistinct 
notices  of  the  Tuteloes.  It  has  been  seen  that  they  had  mi- 
grated to  the  north  and  joined  the  Six  Nations,  who  brought 
them  forward,  in  1758,  as  one  of  the  younger  members  of  the 
confederacy.  Evans,  in  the  Analysis  of  his  Map,  says  that  the 
Six  Nations  had  allotted  lands  on  the  Susquehanna  to  several 
tribes,  amongst  which  he  enumerates  the  Tuteloes  from  Me- 
berrin  River  in  Virginia;  and  he  further  states,  that  they  (the 
Six  Nations)  laid  no  claim  to  the  country  of  the  Tuscaroras 
who  had  been  driven  away,  but  were  not  so  well  satisfied  as  to 
the  lands  of  the  Tuteloes  and  Meherrins,  whom  they  had  re- 
ceived under  their  protection.  We  have  no  vocabulary  of 
that  tribe,  and  no  knowledge  that  they  still  exist  under  that 
name. 

It  appears  by  Beverly,  that  the  Nottoways  had  preserved  their 
independence  and  their  numbers  later  than  the  Powbatans,  and 
that,  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  they  had  still  one 
hundred  and  thirty  warriors.  They  do  not  appear  to  have 
migrated  from  their  original  seats  in  a body.  In  the  year  1820, 
they  are  said  to  have  been  reduced  to  twenty-seven  souls,  and 
were  still  in  possession  of  seven  thousand  acres  in  Southamp- 
ton county,  Virginia,  which  had  been,  at  an  early  date,  reserved 
to  them.  J.  Wood  obtained  in  thaLyear  a vocabulary  of  their 
language  from  Edie  Turner,  who  was  called  their  Queen.  It 
was-  transmitted  by  Mr.  Jefferson  to  Mr.  Duponceau,  who 
immediately  recognised  it  as  an  Iroquois  dialect.  They  had 
till  then  been  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  Powhatan  tribes  of 
the  Lenape  stock.  Another  vocabulary  has  been  obtained  by 
the  Hon.  James  Tresevant,  which  corresponds  with  that  of 

VOL.  IT.  11 


82  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

Wood,  and  from  which  we  learn  that  the  true  name  of  that 
tribe  is  Cherohakah. 

The  Tuscaroras  were  by  far  the  most  powerful  nation  in 
North  Carolina,  and  occupied  all  the  residue  of  the  territory 
in  that  colony,  which  has  been  described  as  inhabited  by  Iro- 
quois tribes.  Their  principal  seats  in  1708,  were  on  the 
Neuse  and  the  Taw  or  Tar  rivers,  and,  according  to  Lawson, 
they  had  twelve  hundred  warriors  in  fifteen  towns.  The 
Albemarle  district  in  North  Carolina  had  at  that  time  been 
settled  more  than  fifty  years;  and,  although  some  collisions 
had  occurred,  no  serious  conflict  had  till  then  taken  place 
between  the  white  emigrants  and  the  weaker  Indian  tribes, 
bordering  on  the  sounds  and  seated  near  the  mouths  ol  the 
rivers.  The  settlements  did  not  extend  far  inland  towards  the 
Tuscaroras  ; and  an  accession  of  German  emigrants  seems  to 
have  been  the  immediate  cause  of  what  that  nation  considered 
as  an  encroachment.  Lawson,  who  was  Surveyor  General  of 
the  Colony,  was  the  first  victim  of  their  resentment.  Having 
taken  and  murdered  him,  they  thought  they  had  proceeded  too  far 
to  retreat,  and,  falling  unexpectedly  on  the  inhabitants,  mas- 
sacred one  hundred  and  thirty  in  one  day.  (September,  1711.) 
They  were  joined  by  several  small  adjacent  tribes,  which 
appear  to  have  inhabited  the  low  country  between  the  Neuse 
and  Cape  Fear  rivers,  the  principal  of  which  is  called  Corees 
or  Coramines.  The  colony  was  still  very  weak  and  was  thrown 
into  great  alarm.  The  government  of  South  Carolina  sent  to 
their  assistance  Colonel  Barnwell  with  six  hundred  militia  and 
about  six  hundred  friendly  Indians.*  He  killed  or  took  near 
three  hundred  hostile  Indians,  principally  of  the  smaller  tribes, 
surrounded  six  hundred  Tuscaroras,  and  made  with  them  a 
peace  which  they  soon  broke.  In  the  autumn  of  1712,  all  the 
inhabitants  south  and  southwest  of  Chowan  River  were  obliged 
to  live  in  forts;  and  the  Tuscaroras  expected  assistance  from 
the  Five  Nations.f  This  could  not  have  been  given,  without 
involving  the  confederacy  in  a war  with  Great  Britain  ; and 
the  Tuscaroras  were  left  to  their  own  resources.  A force, 

* Two  hundred  and  eighteen  Cherokees,  seventy-nine  Creeks,  forty- 
one  Catawbas,  twenty-eight  Yainassees.  Hewatt’s  Account  of  South 
Carolina.  The  Indians  sent  the  following  year,  under  Colonel  Moore, 
are  called  Ashley  Indians  by  Dr.  Williamson. 

f Letter  of  Governor  Pollock  to  the  Proprietors,  of  September,  1712. 
Williamson’s  History  of  North  Carolina. 


SECT-  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  83 


consisting  chiefly  of  southern  Indians  under  the  command  of 
ColoneJ  Moore,  was  again  sent  by  the  government  of  South 
Carolina  to  assist  the  northern  colony.  He  besieged  and  took 
a fort  of  the  Tuscaroras,  called  Narahuke,  near  the  Cotechney, 
between  the  Taw  and  Neuse  rivers,  (March,  1713.)  Of  eight 
hundred  prisoners,  six  hundred  were  given  up  to  the  Southern 
Indians,  who  carried  them  to  South  Carolina  to  sell  them  as 
slaves.  The  eastern  Tuscaroras,  whose  principal  town  was  on 
the  Taw,  twenty  miles  above  Washington,  immediately  made 
peace,  and  a portion  was  settled  a few  years  after  north  of  the 
Roanoke,  near  Windsor,  where  they  continued  till  the  year 
1803.  But  the  great  body  of  the  nation  removed  in  1714—15, 
to  the  Five  Nations,  was  received  as  the  sixth,  and  has  since 
shared  their  fate.* 

The  Tuscarora  vocabulary  prepared  by  Nich.  and  Jas. 
Cassick,  native  Indians,  was  received  through  the  War  Depart- 
ment. 


SECTION  III. 

SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

The  nations  still  found  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  south 
of  the  territory  formerly  occupied  by  the  Lenape  and  Iroquois 
tribes,  are  the  remnant  of  the  Catawbas,  the  Cherokees,  the 
Creek  confederacy  and  the  Seminoles,  the  Choctaws  and  the 
Chickasas.  Of  the  other  numerous  tribes,  which  appear  to 
have  formerly  inhabited  the  lower  country  of  Carolina,  the 
eastern  part  of  Georgia,  and  West  Florida,  we  have  but  partial 
and  very  imperfect  accounts. 

In  the  year  1670,  when  English  emigrants  first  settled  in 
South  Carolina,  four  tribes  are  mentioned  near  the  seashore 
between  the  rivers  Ashley  and  Savannah  : — the  Stonoes,  Edis- 
toes,  Westoes,  and  Savannahs.  As  the  Westoes  are  said  to 
have  occupied  the  country  between  the  Ashley  and  the  Edisto 
rivers,f  R seems  probable  that  the  first  three  tribes  were  but 
one  nation.  They  are  represented  as  cruel  and  hostile,  and  a 
war  between  them  and  the  white  settlers  began  in  or  before  the 


* The  account  of  this  war  is  derived  from  Hewatt  and  Williamson 
compared.  f Ramsay  and  Hewatt, 


84 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


year  1680.* * * §  They  were  at  the  same  time  at  war  with  the 
Savannahs,  by  whom  they  were  shortly  after  totally  defeated 
and  driven  away.f  The  Savannahs  remained  in  the  province, 
and,  according  to  Archdale’s  testimony,  were,  in  1695,  “ good 
friends  and  useful  neighbours  of  the  English.”  They  are  also 
mentioned  by  Lawson,  who  was  in  Charleston  in  1700,  as  “a 
famous,  warlike,  friendly  nation,  living  to  the  south  of  Ashley 
River.”  The  name  of  Savannahs,  most  probably  derived  from 
that  of  the  river  on  which  they  lived,  and  which  is  of  Spanish 
origin,  is  there  dropped.  Instead  of  them  we  find  only  the 
Yamassees,  occupying  the  same  seats,  mentioned  uniformly  as 
having  been,  from  the  first  settlement,  friendly  to  the  English 
and  hostile  to  the  Spaniards  of  Florida;  and,  as  no  mention 
whatever  is  made  of  a war  with  the  Savannahs,  or  that  they 
had  been  expelled  from  the  province,  it  may  be  inferred  that 
they  and  the  Yamassees  were  the  same  people,  and  the  last 
their  true  Indian  name.  That  of  their  principal  town  was 
Poketalico,  which  belongs  also  to  a tributary  stream  of  the 
Great  Kanhawa.  We  have  no  specimen  of  their  language  ; 
but  the  name  of  Coosa  Hatchie,J  or  Coosa  River,  is  certainly 
Muskhogee,  and  renders  it  probable  that  they  were  a tribe  of 
that  nation. 

The  Yamassees  had  assisted  the  English  in  twTo  expeditions, 
carried  on  by  Governor  Moore  against  the  Spaniards  of  St. 
Augustine  and  the  Indians  living  between  the  rivers  Altamaha 
and  Savannah,  and  again,  as  late  as  1712-1713,  against  the 
Tuscaroras.  <§>  In  1715,  they  suddenly  attacked  the  colony, 
massacred  a number  of  inhabitants  unaware  of  any  danger,  and 
involved  South  Carolina  in  a calamitous  and  dangerous  war. 
They  are  said  to  have  been  excited  by  the  Spaniards,  to  whom 
they  had  previously  been  remarkably  hostile.  Subsequent 
circumstances  render  the  suggestion  probable.  But  other 
causes,  of  which  the  principal  was  beyond  doubt  the  progress 
and  extension  of  the  settlements,  must  have  cooperated  in 
forming  the  general  combination,  not  only  of  the  Yamassees 
and  of  the  Creeks  and  Appalachians  from  beyond  the  Savan- 
nah, but  also  of  the  Cherokees,  the  Catawbas,  the  Congarees, 
and  of  all  the  tribes  as  far  as  Cape  Fear  River.  These 

* Chalmers,  f Archdale. 

J Hatchie  means  River , in  the  Muskhogee  language,  and  Coosa  is  the 

name  of  a well-known  river  in  their  country. 

§ He  watt. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  85 

advanced  within  fifty  miles  of  Charleston,  but  were  finally  re- 
pulsed ; and  Governor  Craven,  with  almost  all  the  militia, 
marched  against  the  Yamassees  and  their  southern  confederates, 
defeated  them  in  a bloody  engagement,  and  drove  them  across 
the  Savannah  out  of  the  province.  They  were  well  received 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  still  committed  hostilities  on  the  frontiers. 
The  warfare  continued  several  years  in  that  quarter.  Peace 
was  restored  by  Governor  Nicholson  ; and  that  which  lie  made 
with  the  adjacent  small  tribes  northeast  of  Charleston,  of  which 
no  subsequent  notice  is  taken,  dees  not  appear  to  have  been 
ever  after  disturbed.*  It  may  be  that  the  small  tribe  called 
Yamacraw , which  the  first  settlers  of  Georgia  found  near  the 
site  of  Savannah,  was  a remnant  of  the  Yamassees. 

Of  the  small  tribes  northeast  of  Charleston,  both  in  South 
and  North  Carolina,  we  know  hardly  any  tiling  but  their  names. 
Lawson,  who,  in  1700-1,  travelled  from  Charleston  to  the  set- 
tlement at  the  mouth  of  Taw  River  on  Pamlico  sound,  left  the 
seashore  at  the  mouth  of  the  Santee,  and  proceeded  north- 
wardly to  the  hilly  country,  and  thence  eastwardly  to  Pamlico 
or  Pamlicough.  He  mentions  the  Sewees,  Santees,  Wyniaws, 
Congarees,  Waterees,  and  Waxsaws,  as  very  small  tribes,  resid- 
ing principally  on  the  waters  of  the  Santee.  He  left  on  his 
right  the  Cheraws  and  Cape  Fear  Indians,  whom  he  does  not 
mention.  In  his  progress  northwardly  he  came  to  an  Esaw 
town,  which  appears  to  have  been  situated  on  the  Pedee. 
The  Esaws  wTere  the  only  powerful  nation  till  he  came  to  the 
Tuscaroras.  They  amounted  to  several  thousands,  and  within 
twenty  miles  of  their  town  Lawson  found  that  of  the  Kada- 
paivs,  in  which  we  recognise  the  name  of  Catawbas.  As  no 
further  mention  is  made  of  the  Esaws,  and  no  other  populous 
nation  is  ever  after  alluded  to  in  that  quarter  but  the  Catawbas, 
there  cannot,  it  seems,  be  any  doubt  of  their  identify  with  the 
Esaws  of  Lawson,  who  probably  mistook  a local  for  the  gen- 
eric name  of  the  nation.  Between  them  and  the  Tusca- 
roras of  the  river  Neuse,  he  places  the  Saponas  on  a branch 
of  Cape  Fear  River ,f  and  in  their  vicinity  the  Toteros  and 


* Nicholson  became  Governor  in  1721.  He  is  said  by  He  watt  to  have 
treated  with  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees.  The  permanent  peace  with 
the  small  tribes  is  inferred  from  the  silence  of  Hewatt  and  Ramsay. 

f Or  rather  of  the  Great  Pedee,  which  he  does  not  mention,  and 
some  branches  of  which  he  evidently  mistook  for  tributary  streams  of 
Cape  Fear  River. 


86 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


the  Keyauwees,  three  small  tribes  amounting  together  to  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  souls,  which  had  hut  lately  been  driven  away 
from  the  west  into  that  quarter.  He  was  shown,  near  the 
Sapona  town,  the  graves  of  seven  Indians  “ lately  killed  by  the 
Sinnegars  or  Jennitos,”  ( Senecas  or  Oneidas,)  and  the  three 
tribes  had  determined  to  unite  in  one  town  for  their  better  se- 
curity.* East  of  them  and  west  of  the  Tusearoras,  he  mentions 
the  Sissipahaus  on  the  waters  of  Cape  Fear  River, and  the  Enoes 
on  a branch  of  the  Neuse.  With  the  exception  of  the  Ca- 
tawbas,  we  have  not  the  least  knowledge  of  the  language  of 
any  of  those  tribes. 

Lawson  has  also  given  an  enumeration  of  the  tribes  inhabit- 
ing the  eastern  part  of  North  Carolina,  extending  westwardly 
but  a short  distance  beyond  Neuse  River.  He  estimates  the 
warriors  of  the  Iroquois  tribes  at  one  thousand  three  hundred, 
of  the  Lenape  at  less  than  one  hundred,  of  the  Woccons  at 
one  hundred  and  twenty,  of  all  the  other  tribes,  including  the 
Machapunga  (or  Maramiskeetf),  the  Bear  River,  Connamox, 
and  Neuse,  at  only  one  hundred  and  twenty.  This  last  num- 
ber appears  to  be  underrated  ; and  neither  the  Enoes  nor  the 
Coramines  are  included.  But  it  shows  the  insignificance  of 
the  small  tribes  which  have  disappeared. 

The  records  of  North  Carolina  would  probably  throw  some 
light  on  that  subject.  We  learn  from  Williamson  that  the 
Saponas  and  the  Chowans,  about  the  year  1720,  obtained  leave 
to  join  the  Tusearoras.  The  Wyanokes,  whom  he  mentions  as 
having  lived  on  the  river  Nottoway  and  formerly  emigrated  from 
the  Susquehanna,  were  probably  a tribe  connected  with  the 
Nottoways  and  Chowans.  To  the  names  already  mentioned 
may  be  added  the  upper  and  lower  Sawara  towns,  laid  down, 
south  of  the  Dan  River,  in  all  the  early  maps  of  North  Caroli- 
na. In  Jeffrey’s  map,  a tribe  called  Saluda,  is  also  laid  down, 
south  of  that  river,  near  the  present  site  of  Columbia  in  South 
Carolina,  with  a note,  that  it  had  removed  to  Conestogo  in 
Pennsylvania. 

Some  detached  observations  of  Lawson  may  deserve  notice. 
Buffaloes  (bisons)  were  found  in  his  time  on  the  hilly  country 
on  the  head  waters  of  Cape  Fear  River  ; and  it  is  not  known 
that  they  were  ever  seen  north  of  that  place,  east  of  the  Alle- 


* Lawson’s  New  Voyage  to  Carolina,  pp.  44  - 47. 
f Williamson. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  81 

ghany  Mountains.  He  asserts  positively,  that  the  wolf  of  the 
woods  is  the  Indian  dog,  that  the  Indians  have  no  other  dogs 
than  domesticated  wolves.*  But  his  most  remarkable  assertion 
is,  that  the  Indian  women  never  plant  corn  amongst  us,  as 
they  do  amongst  the  Iroquois,  who  are  always  at  war  and  hunt- 
ing.” The  reason  he  alleges  for  the  Iroquois  usage  was 
equally  applicable  to  all  the  other  Indians,  without  excepting 
those  of  North  Carolina. 

The  difference  between  the  languages  of  those  several  tribes 
struck  Lawson  forcibly.  He  observes  that  he  could  find  but 
one  word  common  to  the  Tuscaroras  and  the  Woccons,  who 
lived  but  two  leagues  apart.  In  the  absence  of  vocabularies, 
it  is  now  impossible  to  ascertain,  whether  most  of  those  several 
communities  spoke  languages  radically  different  from  each  oth- 
er, or  dialects  of  the  same.  But  we  are  indebted  to  Lawson  for 
those  of  the  Tuscaroras,  of  the  Pamlicos,  and  of  the  Woccons; 
and  they  certainly  belong  to  three  distinct  languages.  He  did 
not  suspect  that  of  the  Tuscaroras  to  be  an  Iroquois  dialect,  and 
that  his  short  specimen  of  that  of  the  Pamlicos  wmuld  enable 
us  to  ascertain  how  far  the  Lenape  tribes  extended  towards 
the  south.  On  comparing  the  vocabularies  of  the  Wroccons  and 
the  Catawbas,  out  of  fifty-one  words  found  in  both,  sixteen 
appear  to  have  more  or  less  remote  affinities  ; and  the  Woccons 
have  accordingly  been  designated  as  belonging  to  the  same 

o_  j o o O' 

family  of  languages-! 

The  Catawbas,  according  to  Adair  and  Ramsay,  could  mus- 
ter one  thousand  five  hundred  warriors  at  the  first  settlement 
of  South  Carolina.  Lawson  estimates  them,  under  the  name 
of  Esaws,  at  several  thousand  souls.  Mr.-  Miller  says,  that 
they  were  originally  called  Flatheads,  and  were  a terror  to  the 
surrounding  tribes.  They  were  able,  at  no  very  remote  time, 
to  drive  away  the  Shawnoes  from  their  temporary  settlement, 

^ It  is  mentioned  irr  Captain  Franklin  Vfirst  Expedition,  that  some.Cop- 
permine  River  Indians,  having  caught  a litter  of  young  wolves,,  kept 
several  in  order  to  improve  the. breed  of  their  dogs. 

f The  following  are  the  most  remarkable. 


Woccon. 
one , tonne, 

Catawba. 

dupunna, 

brother, 

Woccos. 

yenrauhe, 

Catawba. 

murrundeh,. 

two,  numperre, 

three,  nammee, 

naperra, 

maize., 

cose, 

koos, 

namunda, 

bread, 

ikettan, 

koostau. 

four , punnum-punne,purre  purra, 

house, 

ouke, 

sook, 

water,  ejau, 
Indians, y auh-he , 

eeyau, 

snake, 

yau-hauk, 

y-ah, 

yayeh, 

goose, 

auhaun, 

ah- hah, 

wife,  yecauau, 

yakezuh, 

fish, 

yacunne, 

y-ee. 

88 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


on  the  head  waters  probably  of  the  Santee  and  Pedee,  and, 
according  to  Adair,  could  still  muster  four  hundred  warriors  in 
1743.  Yet  they  are  mentioned  by  the  historians  of  South 
Carolina,  only  in  1713,  as  auxiliaries  against  the  Tuscaroras  ; 
in  1715,  as  having  joined  the  other  northern  tribes  in  the  con- 
federacy against  the  colony  ; in  1756,  as  requesting  that  a fort 
might  be  built  upon  their  lands  ; for  the  last  time  in  1760,  as 
auxiliaries  against  the  Cherokees.  It  must  thence  be  inferred 
that,  excepting  the  short  war  of  1715,  they  were  always  at 
peace  with  Carolina.  Their  perpetual  wars  with  the  Shaw- 
noes,  with  the  Cherokees,  and,  finally,  with  the  Six  Nations, 
may  have  kept  them  sufficiently  occupied,  and  compelled  them 
to  remain  on  friendly  terms  with  the  only  people,  by  whom 
they  could  be  supp'ied  with  arms  and  ammunition.  Another 
cause  for  their  peaceable  disposition  towards  the  English,  may 
be  found  in  the  slow  progress  of  the  settlements  in  that  quar- 
ter. “In  1736,  settlements  had  extended  partially  about  eighty 
or  ninety  miles  from  the  seacoast.  Between  1750  and  1760, 
settlements  were  commenced  two  hundred  miles  from  Charles- 
ton by  emigrants  from  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  Between 
the  seacoast  settlements  and  those  to  the  westward,  a consider- 
able tract  of  country  was  for  several  years  left  in  the  undisturbed 
possession  of  the  aborigines.”  * 

The  boundaries  and  extent  of  the  territory  occupied  by  the 
Catawbas,  cannot  be  ascertained,  and  may  not  always  have 
been  the, same.  It  is  probable  that  the  Cherokees  were  origi- 
nally in  possession  of  the  country  on  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Savannah,  the  Santee  and  the  Pedee.  If,  as  has  been  sug- 
gested, the  Woccons,  who  bordered  on  the  Tuscaroras,  spoke 
a dialect  of  the  Catawba  language,  it  must  have  had  a consid- 
erable-extent, and  may  have  been  that  of  the  Congarees,  of 
the  Cheraws,  and  of  some  other  of  the  small  tribes.f  It  is 
altogether  distinct  from  the  Cherokee,  but  has  some  affinities 


* Ramsay’s  History  of  South  Carolina,  Yol.  I.  Chap.  vi. 
t The.  Cheraws  are  said  to  have  joined  the  Catawbas,  and  to  have 
been  living  amongst  them  in  1768.  (Rev.  E Potter’s  letter  to  Dr. 
Stiles  in  the  tenth  volume  of  1 Mass.  Hist.  Coll.)  Adair  mentions  the 
Cheraws,  Waterees,  Congarees,  Enoes,  &c.,  as  having  joined  the  Cataw- 
bas ; but  I believe  him  mistaken  when  he  says  that  they  spoke  different 
dialects.  The  words  collected  forty  years  ago  by  B.  Smith  Barton  are, 
all  but  one,  identical  with  those  of  Mr.  Miller’s  vocabulary  taken  this 
year.  (1835.)  Barton’s  New  Views,  &c.  (Philad.  1797.) 


SECT.  111.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  89 

with  the  Muskhogee  and  even  the  Choctaw.  These  did  not 
however  appear  sufficient  to  make  it  considered  as  belonging 
to  the  same  family. 

The  Catawbas,  enfeebled  by  their  disastrous  wars  and  princi- 
pally by  that  with  the  Six  Nations,  greatly  diminished  by  the 
smallpox  and  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  surrounded  by  the 
progressive  settlements  of  the  white  inhabitants,  have  ultimate- 
ly ceded  all  their  lands,  reserving  only  a tract  of  fifteen  miles 
square,  on  each  side  of  the  Santee  or  Catawba  River,  on  the 
borders  of  North  Carolina,  which,  now  reduced  to  ninety-eight 
souls,  they  still  occupy.  Their  vocabulary  has  been  obtained, 
within  this  year,  through  the  care  of  Mr.  John  L.  Miller, 
President  of  the  Ebenezer  Academy. 


De  Soto  appears  to  have  passed,  in  1540,  through  part  of 
the  Cherokee  country.  But  the  Europeans  since  that  time 
had  not  come  in  contact  with  the  Cherokees,  before  the  set- 
tlement of  South  Carolina  ; and  they  are  for  the  first  time  men- 
tioned in  1693,  when  they  complained  that  the  Savannahs, 
Esaws,  and  Congarees  took  prisoners  from  them,  and  sold 
them  as  slaves  in  Charleston.*  It  appears  that  the  Yamassees 
used  to  make  incursions  into  Florida  for  the  same  purpose. 
Governor  Archdale,  who  acted  towards  the  Indians  with  equal 
good  sense  and  humanity,  put  an  end  to  that  practice  in  1695.f 
The  Cherokees  sent  more  than  two  hundred  warriors,  in  1712, 
to  assist  the  English  in  the  war  against  the  Tuscaroras.  Al- 
though their  name  is  mentioned,  in  1715,  amongst  the  Northern 
Indians  of  the  confederacy  against  Carolina,  as  the  whole 
number  of  those  who  took  arms  in  that  quarter  were  estimated 
at  only  six  hundred,  it  is  not  probable  that  they  took  a very 
active  part  in  that  conflict.  Governor  Nicholson  established 
friendly  relations  with  them,  which  were  confirmed  by  the 
solemn  treaty  of  1730,  negotiated  by  Alexander  Cummings, 
and  which  secured  peace  for  thirty  years.]; 

In  the  beginning  of  the  seven  years’  war,  they  acted  as 
auxiliaries  to  the  British,  and  assisted  at  the  capture  of  Fort 
Duquesne.  On  their  return  home,  they  committed  some  dep- 
redations in  Virginia,  which  vyere  not  tamely  submitted  to  ; and 


* Hewatt.  f Ibid.  f Hewatt  and  Ramsay. 

VOL.  II.  12 


90  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

several  of  their  warriors  were  killed.  The  proper  steps 
to  pacify  them  were  not  taken  ; and  a war  ensued  equally 
calamitous  to  both  parties.  It  became  necessary  to  bring 
British  troops  from  the  north  ; two  expeditions  were  made  into 
their  country,  and  peace  was  restored  in  1761.  They  took 
arms  on  the  British  side  during  the  war  of  Independence,  and, 
although  some  prior  treaties  intervened,  partial  hostilities  con- 
tinued several  years  after  1783  ; and  peace  was  not  secured 
till  the  treaty  of  Holston  in  1791.  By  this  treaty  a territory  on 
which  white  settlers  had  encroached,  was  restored  to  them. 
Fi  om  that  time  they  have  ever  been  at  peace  with  the  United 
States  ; and,  during  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain,  they  as- 
sisted America,  as  auxiliaries,  against  the  Creeks. 

The  territory  of  the  Cherokees,  Chelakees,  or  more  proper- 
ly Tsalakies,  extended  north  and  south  of  the  southwesterly 
continuation  of  the  Appalachian  mountains,  embracing  on  the 
north  the  country  on  Tennessee  or  Cherokee  River  and  its 
tributary  streams,  from  their  sources  down  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
Muscle  Shoals,  where  they  were  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
Chicasas.  The  Cumberland  mountain  may  be  considered  as 
having  been  their  boundary  on  the  north  ; but  since  the  country 
has  been  known  to  us,  no  other  Indian  nation  but  some  small 
bands  of  Shawnoes,  had  any  settlement  between  that  mountain 
and  the  Ohio.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Savannah  they  were 
bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Creeks,  the  division  line  being 
Broad  River  and  generally  along  the  thirty-fourth  parallel  of 
north  latitude.  On  the  east  of  the  Savannah,  their  original 
seats  embraced  the  upper  waters  of  that  river,  of  the  Santee 
and  probably  of  the  Yadkin,  but  could  not  have  extended 
as  far  south  as  the  thirty-fourth  degree  of  north  latitude.  They 
were  bounded  on  the  south,  in  that  quarter,  probably  by  Musk- 
hogee  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Savannah,  and  farther  east 
by  the  Catawbas. 

The  Cherokees,  like  other  Indian  nations,  were  almost  always 
at  war  with  some  of  the  adjacent  tribes.  They  had  probably 
contributed  to  the  expulsion  of  the  Shawnoes  from  the  country 
south  of  the  Ohio,  and  appear  to  have  been  perpetually  at  war 
with  some  branch  or  other  of  that  erratic  nation.*  They 


# The  last  settlement  of  the  Shawnoes  south  of  the  Ohio  was  at 
Bull’s  Town  on  the  Little  Kenhawa.  They  were  obliged  to  abandon 
it  about  the  year  1770,  on  account  of  the  repeated  attacks  of  small 
Cherokee  parties. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  JNDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  91 

had  also  long-continued  hostilities  with  the  Six  Nations,  which 
do  not  seem  to  have  been  conducted  with  much  vigor  on  either 
side,  and  were  terminated  about  the  years  1 744-1750,  through 
the  interference  of  the  British  government.  It  appears  by  an 
answer  sent  by  them  at  the  conferences  of  Carlisle  of  1753, 
to  a previous  message  of  the  Delawares,  that  they  had  at  a 
former  period  entertained  amicable  relations  with  that  tribe. 
They  express  in  it  friendly  dispositions,  say  that  they  had  not 
heard  from  the  Delawares  for  a long  time,  and  call  them 
nephews.* 

The  country  of  the  Cherokees  was  strong  ; they  formed 
but  one  nation,  and  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  materially 
injured  by  their  Indian  wars.  It  would  seem,  that  since  they 
came  in  contact  with  the  Europeans,  and  notwithstanding  suc- 
cessive cessions  of  part  of  their  territory,  their  number,  at  least 
during  the  last  forty  years,  has  been  increased.  Their  war- 
riors were  estimated  at  two  thousand  three  hundred  in  the  year 
1762,  by  Adair,  who  adds,  that  he  was  informed  that  forty 
years  before  they  had  six  thousand.  According  to  a late 
estimate  of  the  Indian  Department,  they  now  amount  to 
fifteen  thousand  souls,  including  those  who  have  already  re- 
moved beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  exclusively  of  about 
twelve  hundred  negroes  in  their  possession.  The  progress  of 
civilization  amongst  them  will  be  hereafter  adverted  to.  We 
abstain  from  any  observation  on  recent  transactions  connected 
with  the  intended  removal  of  the  whole  tribe  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi, this  being  the  subject  of  pending  negotiations,  which, 
it  is  hoped,  may  be  attended  with  a result  satisfactory  to  all 
parties. 

The  vocabularies  of  their  language  are  amongst  the  most 
authentic  we  have  of  any  Indian  nation.  The  appended  com- 
parative vocabulary  was  entirely  written  by  Mr.  Boudinot,  or 
Mr.  Ridge,  Jun.,  both  native  Cherokees,  who  speak  English  as 
if  it  were  their  mother  tongue.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Worcester 
has  also  aided  our  enquiries  in  that  quarter. 

Dr.  Barton  thought  that  the  Cherokee  language  belonged 
to  the  Iroquois  family  ; and,  on  this  point,  I am  inclined  to  the 
same  opinion.  The  affinities  are  few  and  remote  ; but  there 


* MS.  papers  of  the  late  John  Montgomery  of  Carlisle,  given  to  me, 
with  sundry  other  interesting  Indian  documents,  by  his  son,  the  late 
John  Montgomery,  of  Baltimore. 


92 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


is  a similarity  in  the  general  termination  of  syllables,  in  the 
pronunciation  and  accent,  which  has  struck  some  of  the  native 
Cherokees.  We  have  not  a sufficient  knowledge  of  the  gram- 
mar, and  generally  of  the  language  of  the  Five  Nations,  or  of 
the  Wyandots,  to  decide  that  question.  But  a particular  char- 
acter of  the  Cherokee  has  been  disclosed  by  Guess’s  syllabic 
alphabet. 

Sequoyah,  or  Guess,  as  he  is  commonly  called,  is  a native 
Cherokee,  unacquainted  with  the  English  language.  He  saw 
books  in  the  missionary  schools,  and  was  informed  that  the 
characters  represented  the  words  of  the  spoken  language. 
Not  understanding  how  this  was  done,  he  undertook  to  make 
characters  of  his  own  for  the  Cherokee,  and  at  first  attempted 
to  have  a distinct  one  for  each  word.  He  soon  saw  that  the 
number  would  be  such  as  to  render  that  plan  impracticable  ; 
and  discovering  that,  although  the  Cherokee  is  eminently  poly- 
syllabic, the  same  syllables  variously  combined  perpetually 
recurred  in  different  words,  he  concluded  to  have  a character 
for  each  syllable.  This  he  did  by  listening,  with  a view  to  his 
object,  to  every  discourse  held  in  his  hearing,  and  noting  in  his 
own  way  every  new  syllable.  In  a short  time  he  produced 
his  syllabic  alphabet  consisting  of  only  eighty-five  characters, 
through  which  he  was  enabled  to  teach  within  three  weeks 
every  Cherokee,  old  or  young,  who  desired  it,  how  to  write  his 
own  language.  That  alphabet  has  superseded  ours.  Several 
books  and  a newspaper  called  the  “ Phoenix,”  edited  by  Mr. 
Boudinot,  have  been  published  with  those  characters  ; and  the 
Cherokees  universally  use  them  when  writing  in  their  own 
tongue.  When  the  first  imperfect  copy  of  that  alphabet  was 
received  at  the  War  Department,  it  appeared  incredible  that  a 
language,  known  to  be  copious,  should  have  but  eighty-five  sylla- 
bles. The  examination  of  a Cherokee  spelling-book,  published 
in  our  characters  by  the  Missionaries,  explained  what  seemed 
to  be  a mystery. 

It  was  found  that  every  Cherokee  syllable  ended  in  a vocal 
or  nasal  sound,  and  that  there  were  no  other  double  con- 
sonants but  tl  or  dl,  and  ts,  and  combinations  of  s with 
four  or  five  different  consonants.  The  language  has  twelve 
consonants  including  h,  viz.  g or  k,  h,  l,  m,  n,  qu,  d or 
t,  dl  or  tl,  ts,  iv,  y,  s;  five  vowels,  viz.  a,  e,  i,  o,  u;  and 
a nasal  ung.  It  is  obvious,  that,  multiplying  the  number  of 
consonants  (including  the  tl),  by  the  six  vowels  (including  the 
nasal),  and  adding  to  the  product  the  said  six  vowels,  each  of 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  93 

which  is  occasionally  a syllable,  you  have  the  whole  number  of 
possible  syllables  in  the  language,  those  excepted  which  result 
from  the  combinations  of  s united  to  another  following  conso- 
nant, with  the  six  vowels.  It  would  have  required  about 
thirty  additional  characters,  if  Guess,  adhering  to  his  principle, 
had  made  a new  one  for  each  such  combination,  ( sta , stz,  &c., 
spa,  spe,  &c.)  He  gave  a strong  proof  of  talent,  in  discover- 
ing that  he  might  dispense  with  those  thirty,  by  making  for  the 
s a distinct  character.*  It  wanted  but  one  step  more,  and 
to  have  also  given  a distinct  character  to  each  consonant,  to 
reduce  the  whole  number  to  sixteen,  and  to  have  had  an  alpha- 
bet similar  to  ours.  In  practice,  however,  and  as  applied  to 
his  own  language,  the  superiority  of  Guess’s  alphabet  is  mani- 
fest, and  has  been  fully  proved  by  experience.  You  must 
indeed  learn  and  remember  eighty-five  characters  instead  of 
twenty-five.  But  this  once  accomplished,  the  education  of  the 
pupil  is  completed,  he  can  read,  and  he  is  perfect  in  his  ortho- 
graphy without  making  it  the  subject  of  a distinct  study.  The 
boy  learns  in  a few  weeks  that  which  occupies  two  years  of  the 
time  of  ours.  It  is  that  peculiarity  in  the  vocal  or  nasal  ter- 
mination of  syllables  and  that  absence  of  double  consonants, 
more  discernible  to  the  ear  than  to  the  eye,  which  were  alluded 
to,  when  speaking  of  some  affinity  in  that  respect  between  the 
Cherokee  and  the  Iroquois  languages. 

It  is  true  that  the  original  idea  of  expressing  sounds  by 
characters  was  suggested  to  Guess  by  our  books  ; it  must  be 
admitted  that  his  plan  would  have  failed  if  applied  to  perhaps 
any  other  language  than  the  Cherokee  ; and  it  is  doubtful 
whether,  in  such  case,  he  would  have  ascended  to  the  discovery 
of  one  character  for  each  analyzed  sound.  But  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  this  untaught  Indian,  in  what  he  has  performed,  has 
exhibited  a striking  instance  of  the  native  intelligence  of  his  race.f 

* When  Guess  subsequently  explained  the  process  of  his  invention, 
he  said  that  what  had  cost  him  most  labor  was  the  hissing  sound.  Guess’s 
characters  amount  to  eighty-five,  viz.  seventy-seven  as  above  stated, 
less  one,  the  syllable  mung  not  appearing  in  the  language.  Finding 
that  occasionally  k was  pronounced  g ; d like  t ; and  two  distinct  as- 
pirations connected  with  na,  he  has  added  eight  characters  representing 
the  sounds  s,  ka,  hna,  nah,  ta,  le,  ti,  tla. 

t Although  this  syllabic  alphabet  has  been  published  several  times, 
it  has  been  thought  consistent  with  the  object  of  this  essay  to  annex 
a correct  copy  of  it. — See  Appendix. 


94 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


In  the  year  1732,  when  Georgia  was  first  settled,  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Creek  confederacy,  including  at  that  time  the 
Seminoles,  was  bounded  on  the  west  by  Mobile  River,  and 
by  the  ridge  that  separates  the  waters  of  the  Tombigbee  from 
those  of  the  Alabama,  the  ordinary  though  contested  boundary 
between  them  and  the  Choctaws  * ; on  the  north  by  the  Chero- 
kees  ; on  the  northeast  by  the  Savannah  ; on  every  other  quarter 
by  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  is  believed  that 
at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Creeks  occupied, 
south  of  the  thirty-fourth  degree  of  north  latitude,  the  eastern 
as  well  as  the  western  banks  of  the  Savannah. 

It  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  when  the  confederacy  was  con- 
solidated to  that  extent.  During  the  forty  preceding  years, 
we  find  the  Indians  between  Savannah  River  and  St.  Au- 
gustine, on  various  occasions,  divided  amongst  themselves  and 
taking  adverse  parts  in  the  conflicts  between  the  Spaniards  of 
Florida  and  the  English  settlers  of  South  Carolina.  It  may 
be,  that,  as  has  been  seen  recently,  the  contending  European 
powers  drew  to  their  respective  sides  different  portions  of  the 
confederacy.  But  we  cannot  ascertain  whether,  by  the  names 
of  Appalachians  and  Creeks,  both  of  which  occur  in  Hewatt  and 
other  early  writers,  distinct  tribes  are  designated.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  the  appellation  of  Appalachians  was  geographical  and 
applied  to  the  Indians  living  on  the  Appalachicola,  or  Chatahoo- 
chee  River,  as  the  name  of  Creeks  seems  to  have  been  given 
from  an  early  time  to  those  inhabiting  generally  the  country 
adjacent  to  the  river  Savannah. 

The  Creek  confederacy  now  consists  of  several  tribes  speak- 
ing different  languages.  The  Muskhogees  are  the  prevailing 
nation,  amounting  to  more  than  seven  eighths  of  the  whole. 
The  Hitclfittees  who  reside  on  the  Chatahoochee  and  Flint 
rivers,  though  a distinct  tribe,  speak  a dialect  of  the  Muskho- 
gee.  The  Seminoles  or  Isty-semole,  (“  wild  men,”)  who  inhabit 
the  peninsula  of  Florida,  are  pure  Muskhogees,  who  have 
gradually  detached  themselves  from  the  confederacy,  but  who 
were  still  considered  as  members  of  it,  till  the  United  States 
treated  with  them  as  with  an  independent  nation.  The  name 
of  Seminoles  was  given  to  them,  on  account  of  their  being 
principally  hunters  and  attending  but  little  to  agriculture.  A 

* According  to  Adair,  the  river  Coosa  was  the  boundary  in  his 
time. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  95 

vocabulary  is  wanted  in  order  to  prove  conclusively  the  entire 
identity  of  their  language  with  the  Muskhogee. 

There  is  some  diversity  in  the  accounts  given  by  the  Musk- 
hogees  of  their  origin.  The  chiefs  of  the  delegation,  who 
attended  at  Washington  in  the  year  1826,  agreed  that  the 
prevailing  tradition  amongst  them  was,  that  the  nation  had 
issued  out  of  a cave  near  Alabama  River.  The  Hitehittees 
said  that  their  ancestors  had.  fallen  from  the  sky.  These  modes 
of  speaking,  common  to  several  of  the  tribes,  only  show  that 
they  have  lost  the  recollection  of  any  ancient  migration,  and 
that  they  consider  themselves  as  aborigines.  Independent  of 
the  ancient  division  into  families  or  clans,  which  will  be  here- 
after adverted  to,  Mr.  Mitchell,  a former  Indian  agent,  said 
that  there  was,  at  no  distant  time,  a political  division  of  the 
nation  into  four  principal  towns  or  tribes,  viz.  the  Cussetah, 
the  Cowetah,  the  Tukawbatchie,  and  the  Oscoochee,  to  which 
the  Creeks,  though  now  dispersed  throughout  the  whole  of  their 
country,  still  respectively  belong.  This  division,  however, 
whether  geographical  or  political,  has  no  connexion  with  the 
distinction  of  languages. 

The  Uchees  and  the  Natches,  who  are  both  incorporated  in 
the  confederacy,  speak  two  distinct  languages  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  the  Muskhogee.  The  Natches,  a residue  of  the 
well-known  nation  of  that  name,  came  from  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  joined  the  Creeks  less  than  one  hundred  years 
ago.  The  original  seats  of  the  Uchees  were  east  of  the  Coosa 
and  probably  of  the  Chatahoochee  ; and  they  consider  them- 
selves as  the  most  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  country.  They 
may  have  been  the  same  nation  which  is  called  Apalaches  in 
the  accounts  of  De  Soto’s  expedition,  and  their  towns  were  till 
lately  principally  on  Flint  River.  It  appears,  however,  certain 
that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  they  were,  at 
least  in  part,  seated  on  the  western  banks  of  the  Savannah. 
It  has  already  been  seen  that,  in  1736,  they  claimed  the  coun- 
try below  and  above  Augusta.  In  Jeffrey’s  Map  they  are 
laid  down  in  the  same  manner,  but  with  a note  that  those 
settlements  had  been  deserted  in  1715.  This  was  the  year  of 
the  signal  defeat  of  the  Yamassees,  who  were  assisted  by  the 
Creeks.  The  Yamassees  were  driven  across  the  river  ; and 
it  is  probable  that  the  Uchees  were  amongst  their  auxiliaries, 
and  that,  weakened  by  this  defeat,  they  found  it  safer  to  re- 
move to  a greater  distance  from  the  English  settlements*  to- 
wards Flint  River. 


96  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

It  has  been  ascertained  that  two  other  small  tribes  intimately 
connected  together,  to  wit,  the  Alibamons  and  the  Coosadas  or 
Quesadas,  who  reside  near  the  river  Talapoosa,  also  speak  a 
language  or  a dialect  distinct  from  that  of  the  Muskhogees  ; 
but  its  vocabulary  has  not  been  obtained.  The  Talapoosa  and 
the  Coosa  form  by  their  junction  Alabama  River ; and  the 
Alibamons  must  certainly  be  the  residue  of  the  nation  of  that 
name,  mentioned  by  the  French  writers  as  living  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  old  French  fort  on  the  Alabama.  These  five  languages, 
the  Muskhogee  and  the  Hitchittee,  the  Uchee,  the  Natches, 
and  the  Alibamon  or  Coosada  are,  it  is  believed,  the  only  ones 
spoken  by  the  different  tribes  of  the  Creek  confederacy.  The 
Appalachicolas,  with  whom  a separate  treaty  has  recently  been 
made  by  the  United  States,  are  a portion  of  the  Seminoles, 
residing  west  of  St.  Mark’s  near  the  mouth  of  the  Appalachicola 
or  Chatahoochee  River.  It  may  be  here  observed,  that,  al- 
though we  have  no  vocabulary  of  the  Piankishaws  and  of  the 
Kickapoo,  it  is  fully  ascertained  that  they  respectively  speak 
dialects  of  the  Miami  and  of  the  Saukee.  The  Alibamons 
are  the  only  existing  tribe,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  of  whose 
language  we  have  no  positive  knowledge,  and  cannot  say 
whether  it  is  peculiar  to  them,  or  belongs  to  the  same  stock  as 
some  of  the  other  tribes.  I incline  to  the  opinion  that  it  is  a 
dialect  of  the  Choctaw,  or  Muskhogee. 

Although  partial  and  transient  collisions  with  the  Creeks 
occurred  subsequent  to  the  settlement  of  Georgia,  no  actual 
war  with  them  took  place  for  near  fifty  years.  They  took  an 
active  part  in  that  of  the  Revolution  against  the  Americans, 
and  continued  their  hostilities  till  the  treaty  concluded  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  1795.  They  then  remained  at  peace  eighteen 
years  ; but,  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain, 
a considerable  portion  of  the  nation,  excited,  it  is  said,  by 
Tecumseh,  and  probably  receiving  encouragement  from  other 
quarters,  took  arms  without  the  slightest  provocation,  and  at 
first  committed  great  ravages  in  the  vicinity  of  their  western 
frontier.  They  received  a severe  chastisement ; and  the  de- 
cisive victories  of  General  Jackson  at  that  time,  and  some 
years  later  over  the  Seminoles,  who  had  renewed  the  war, 
have  not  only  secured  a permanent  peace  with  the  Southern 
Indians,  but,  together  with  the  progress  of  the  settlements,  have 
placed  them  all  under  the  absolute  control  of  tlie  United 
States.  The  Creeks  and  Seminoles  after  some  struggles 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  97 

amongst  themselves  have  ceded  the  whole  of  their  territory, 
and  accepted  in  exchange  other  lands  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
Their  number  is  estimated  at  twenty-eight  thousand  ; of  whom 
about  twenty-three  thousand  are  Muskhogees  proper,  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  Seminoles,  twelve  hundred  Uchees,  six 
hundred  Hitchittees,  five  hundred  Alibamons  and  Quesadas, 
and  three  hundred  Natches. 

We  have  copious  vocabularies  of  the  Muskhogee  ; one  ob- 
tained by  the  late  Mr.  Hawkins,  and  transmitted  by  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son to  the  American  Philosophical  Society  ; two  others  taken 
at  my  request  in  1825-6,  by  Mr.  Ridge,  Colonel  Hambly, 
and  Mr.  Denny,  from  two  distinct  Muskhogee  delegations  then 
at  Washington;  a fourth  since  transmitted  by  the  Rev.  L. 
Compere,  a Methodist  missionary  to  that  nation.  The  com- 
parative vocabulary  is  extracted  from  those  several  sources.  Its 
form  did  not  permit  me  to  give  the  several  variations,  which  are 
more  numerous  than  in  the  different  vocabularies  of  any  other 
tribe  ; and  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  arise  from  actual  vari- 
eties of  dialects,  rather  than  from  errors  of  the  persons  who 
collected  the  vocabularies.  Those  words  have  been  selected 
which  had  the  greatest  number  of  authorities  in  their  favor. 
As  Hawkins’s  vocabulary  differed  most  from  the  other,  a separ- 
ate specimen  taken  exclusively  from  that  has  been  appended. 
The  small  specimen  of  the  Hitchittee  was  obtained  at  the  same 
time  from  a chief  of  that  tribe  by  Mr.  Ridge. 

The  Uchee  language  is  the  most  guttural,  uncouth,  and 
difficult  to  express  with  our  alphabet  and  orthography  of  any 
of  the  Indian  languages  within  our  knowledge.  The  vocabu- 
lary here  given  is  extracted  from  one  taken  by  Dr.  Ware, 
in  Mr.  Duponceau’s  collection,  and  from  another  obtained  by 
Mr.  Ridge  from  an  Uchee  chief  at  Washington.  Mr.  Ridge  had 
probably  the  best  Indian  ear,  but  was  not  so  correct  in  his  Eng- 
lish orthography.  The  Natches  vocabulary  I took  myself  from 
Is-ah-laktih,  an  intelligent  chief  of  the  remnant  of  that  nation.* 

* The  vowels  a,  e,  i,  o,  and  the  diphthong-  ie,  are,  in  that  vocabulary 
and  in  the  Muskhogee  words  marked  G.,  to  be  pronounced  as  in  French ; 
the  u is  the  short  one  of  but , nut ; the  zh  is  the  French  j ; the  oo,  y> 
and  all  the  consonants  as  in  English  ; the  g,  always  hard.  The  Uchee 
and  Hitchittee  words  taken  by  Mr.  Ridge  are,  as  well  as  Mr.  Haw- 
kins’s and  Mr.  Compere’s  Muskhogee  words,  written  in  conformity 
with  the  English  orthography. 


VOL.  II. 


13 


98 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


De  Soto  was  the  first  European  who  discovered  the  Mississip- 
pi. He  crossed  it  in  the  year  1541,  near  the  thirty-fifth  degree 
of  north  latitude,  and  after  his  death  the  remnant  of  his  com- 
panions, reduced  to  about  three  hundred,  descended  it  to  its 
mouth,  and  with  their  frail  barks  were  fortunate  enough  to 
reach  Panuco  on  the  Mexican  coast.  Although  the  Spaniards 
became  thus  early  acquainted  with  that  large  river,  and  their 
ships  must  have  passed  annually  in  sight  of  its  mouth,  it  re- 
mained unknown  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  De  Soto’s 
expedition;  and  the  river  was  on  that  account  designated  by 
the  name  of  “ Rio  Escondido.”  Father  Marquette  and  M. 
Joliette,  in  the  year  1673,  reached  it  by  the  way  of  the  Fox 
Ri  ver  of  Michigan  and  of  the  Wisconsin.  Ten  years  later 
La  Salle  descended  it  to  its  entrance  into  the  sea.*  But, 
having  sailed  from  France  with  the  intention  of  forming  a 
settlement  on  its  hanks,  he  passed  by  its  mouth  in  1685,  with- 
out recognising  it,  and  landed  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard  at  the 
bottom  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  his  attempt  to  reach  thence 
the  Mississippi  by  land,  he  was  murdered  by  his  own  people  ; 
it  was  only  in  March,  1699,  that  D’Iberville  entered  the  river 
from  the  sea  f ; and  the  French,  who  had  first  established 
themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mobile  and  at  Biloxi,  did  not 
lay  the  foundation  of  New  Orleans  till  the  year  1717. 

The  seashore  from  the  Mobile  to  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
banks  of  that  river,  were  then  inhabited  by  several  small  tribes, 
of  which  the  Natches  were  the  principal.  All  the  rest  of  the 
country  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Cumberland  River,  if  not  to 
the  Ohio,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Mississippi  and  on  the  east 
by  the  Creeks  and  the  Cherokees,  was  inhabited  by  the  Choc- 
taws and  the  Chicasas,  two  distinct  nations,  but  of  the  same 


* He  reached  the  sea  on  the  7th  of  April,  1683.  See  Tonti’s  re- 
lation in  the  fifth  volume  of  “Voyages  au  Nord.”  Tonti  was  the 
friend  and  companion  of  La  Salle,  and  his  relation  of  the  inland  ex- 
peditions of  that  enterprising  traveller  is  the  most  authentic  we  have, 
though  disfigured  by  embellishments  in  very  bad  taste,  introduced  by 
the  Paris  publisher.  The  only  good  relation  of  La  Salle’s  last  voy- 
age is  that  of  Joutel. 

f A British  ship,  probably  that  mentioned  by  Dr.  Cox  in  his  “ Carola- 
na,”  entered  the  river  in  September  of  the  same  year,  and  ascended 
it  to  the  place  thence  called  English  Town.  (Charlevoix).  There  is 
no  evidence  that  supports  the  assertion,  that  the  river  had  formerly 
been  visited  by  English  vessels. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN'  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  99 

stock,  and  speaking,  with  but  few  varieties,  the  same  lan- 
guage. 

o o 

The  Cbicasas  occupied  the  northern,  and  the  Choctaws  the 
southern  part  of  that  territory.  The  Chicasas  were  warlike 
and  in  a state  of  hostility  with  the  Cherokees,  the  Illinois,  the 
Arkansas,  and  occasionally  even  with  the  Choctaws.  The 
Arkansas  and  especially  the  Illinois  were  the  steadfast  allies  of 
the  French.  Enterprising  British  traders  from  South  Carolina 
reached  at  an  early  date  the  Chicasa  country.  And  owing  to 
those  two  causes,  they  became  the  firm  allies  of  the  English, 
and  the  inveterate  enemies  of  the  French.  It  was  in  vain  that 
these  invaded  their  territory,  in  1736,  by  the  Totnbigbee,  and 
in  1740,  from  the  Mississippi.  The  Chicasas  repelled  the  in- 
vaders and  granted  at  last  only  a precarious  peace.  They 
adhered  to  the  British  during  the  war  of  Independence ; but 
they  have  never  committed  any  hostilities  against  the  Ameri- 
cans since  the  year  1783. 

Their  continued  wars  had  considerably  lessened  their  num- 
bers. Tonti,  the  first  European  who  met  with  them,  but  who 
had  no  opportunity  of  ascertaining  their  number,  estimated  their 
warriors,  in  1682,  at  two  thousand.  Adair,  who  resided  many 
years  amongst  them,  says,  that  in  1763,  they  were  reduced  to 
four  hundred  and  fifty ; which  would  give  at  most  a popula- 
tion of  eighteen  hundred  souls.  According  to  the  late  War 
Department  estimate  they  now  amount  to  five  thousand  four 
hundred  and  twenty-nine.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  increase  of 
the  southern  Indians  during  the  last  forty  years  ; but  it  is  proba- 
ble that  Adair  had  underrated  their  number.  An  arrangement 
is  in  train  for  a cession  of  their  territory  in  exchange  for  lands 
west  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  vocabulary  of  their  language  was  written  in  my  pres- 
ence by  an  intelligent  boy  of  their  nation,  who  was  living  with 
Colonel  McKinney,  then  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  bureau  of 
the  War  Department,  and  who  spoke  and  wrote  English  with 
great  facility.  His  orthography  may  in  some  respects  be 
defective  ; but  it  is,  on  the  whole,  one  of  the  most  authentic 
vocabularies  we  possess.  Although  the  separation  of  the 
Chicasas  from  the  Choctaws  must  have  taken  place  long  ago, 
the  language  is  still  almost  the  same,  and  differs  more  in  the 
pronunciation  than  in  the  words.  They  understand  each  other 
without  interpreters.  The  tradition  of  the  Chicasas  is  that 
they  came  from  the  west.  The  Choctaws  have  lost  the 


100 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


recollection  of  a former  migration,  and,  like  the  Muskhogees, 
say  that  they  came  from  under  the  ground.* 

The  Choctaws,  properly  Chahtas, called  also  “Flat  Heads,” 
on  account  of  the  practice,  common  to  several  other  tribes,  of 
flattening  the  head  in  infancy  by  artificial  means,  are  a much 
more  numerous  but  less  warlike  people.  Adair,  whose  estimate 
of  the  character  of  the  Indians  depends  on  their  political  con- 
nexions with  the  English  or  French,  represents  the  Choctaws 
as  the  most  worthless  of  any  of  the  southern  tribes.  The 
early  French  writers  complain  of  their  fickleness,  and  that  they 
could  not  place  confidence  in  their  fidelity.  According  to 
Bernard  Romans,  they  were  farther  advanced  in  civilization 
than  any  of  their  neighbours,  less  cruel  towards  their  prisoners, 
and  applying  more  to  agriculture  than  to  the  chase.  “ The 
Choctaws  may  more  properly  be  called  a nation  of  farmers  than 
any  savages  I have  met  with.”  “ They  help  their  wives  in  the 
labor  of  the  fields  and  many  other  works.”  “ Their  way  of 
life  in  general  may  be  called  industrious  ; they  will  do  what  no 
other  uncompelled  savage  will  do,  that  is,  work  in  the  field  to 
raise  grain.”  f It  is  certain  that  the  Europeans  have  no  right 
to  complain  of  them.  They  have  had  successively  for  neigh- 
bours the  French,  the  Spanish,  the  English,  and  the  Americans  ; 
and  they  have  never  been  at  war  with  any  of  them.  Their 
principal  wars  have  been  with  the  Creeks,  always  defensive 
and  not  very  sanguinary.  In  a conflict  of  six  years  (1765- 
1771),  they  lost  about  three  hundred  people.."];  B.  Romans 
estimated  their  warriors,  in  1772,  at  les3  than  three  thousand, 
which  does  not  differ  materially  from  Adair’s  account.  Ac- 
cording to  the  enumeration  by  the  War  Department,  they  now 
amount  to  eighteen  thousand  five  hundred  souls.  They  have 
agreed  to  take  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi  in  exchange  for 
their  ancient  territory;  and  about  fifteen  thousand  have  already 
removed  to  that  new  country. 

The  Choctaw  or  Chicasa  language  is  by  Du  Pratz  called 
the  Molilian,  a common  language  ( langue  vulgaire ) ; and  the 
intercourse  of  the  French  with  other  tribes  was  generally 
carried  on  by  the  means  of  Choctaw  interpreters.  A grammar 
of  the  language  has  been  prepared  by  our  missionaries  and  will 

* Bernard  Romans  and  Du  Pratz.  The  latter  writer  (Hist,  de  Lou- 
isiane)  explains  the  tradition  by  supposing  that  they  invaded  the  country 
in  great  numbers. 

f B»  Romans,  Nat.  Hist- Florida.  (New  York,  1776.)  pp.  71, 83.  f Ibid, 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OE  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  101 

shortly  be  published.  In  the  mean  while,  some  of  its  principal 
features  have  been  disclosed  in  their  spelling-book,  or  may  be 
deduced  from  the  appended  verbal  forms  and  annotations,  sup- 
plied by  Mr.  Alfred  Wright,  but  in  which  he  was  (l  believe) 
assisted  by  the  Missionaries.  Similar  in  its  general  structure 
to  the  other  Indian  languages  which  have  been  examined,  its 
system  of  inflexions  is  more  simple  and  uniform  than  any 
other ; and  the  mode  of  compounding  words  in  many  respects 
more  similar  to  that  used  in  our  own  languages.  It  appears 
therefore  to  be  the  least  difficult  to  be  acquired  by  an  Euro- 
pean ; which  accounts  for  its  having  been  adopted  by  the 
French  as  a general  medium  of  intercourse  with  all  the  other 
adjacent  Indian  tribes.  The  annexed  vocabularies  were  ex- 
tracted partly  from  the  Missionaries’  spelling-book,*  chiefly  from 
the  copious  one  transmitted  by  Mr.  Wright. 

The  affinities  between  the  Choctaw  and  the  Muskhogee 
were  such  as  to  make  it  a matter  of  doubt,  whether  they  should 
not  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  same  family.  The  ap- 
pended vocabularies  of  both  are  copious,  yet  not  perhaps 
sufficient  to  decide  the  question.  The  short  comparative  one 
of  the  two  languages  shows  in  one  view  the  most  striking  of 
those  affinities.  I think  them  sufficient  to  prove  a common 
origin ; but,  in  compliance  with  received  opinions,  they  have 
been  arranged  in  the  vocabulary  as  forming  two  families. 


The  four  great  southern  nations,  according  to  the  estimates  of 
the  War  Department  which  have  been  quoted  and  are  in  that 
quarter  very  correct,  consist  now  of  sixty-seven  thousand  souls 
viz. 

the  Cherokees  .....  15,000 

the  Choctaws  . 18,500  ) 0 . 

the  Chicasas  . . 5,500  ) 

the  Muskhogees,  Seminoles,  and  Hitchittees  26,000 
the  Uchees,  Alibamons,  Coosadas,  and  Natches  2,000 

The  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  given  or  offered  to 
them  by  the  United  States,  in  exchange  for  their  lands  east  of 
that  river,  contains  forty  millions  of  acres,  exclusively  of  what 

* First  edition.  A copy  of  the  second  improved  edition  could  not 
be  obtained. 


102  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

may  be  allotted  to  the  Chicasas.  Government  defrays  the 
expenses  of  the  removal,  pays  the  value  of  their  improvements, 
and  allows  them  considerable  annuities. 

Our  knowledge  of  those  nations,  derived  from  English  and 
French  writers,  does  not  ascend  higher  than  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  ; and  doubts  have  been  entertained  re- 
specting their  population  in  former  times,  and  the  date  both  of 
their  first  settlement  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  the  subse- 
quent progress  of  the  Muskhogees  towards  the  Atlantic.  We 
have  attempted  to  discover,  amongst  the  Indian  names  of  places 
or  persons  mentioned  in  the  relations  of  De  Soto’s  Expedition, 
some  traces  of  the  tribes,  which  at  that  time  inhabited  the 
country  along  his  line  of  march. 

The  first  of  those  relations  was  published  in  1557,*  by  a Portu- 
guese volunteer  (of  Elvas),  an  eyewitness,  who  has  not  given  his 
name  ; the  other  in  1603,  by  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega,  on  the 
oral  testimony  of  a Spanish  cavalier,  and  on  written  docu- 
ments from  two  other  soldiers,  who  were  also  engaged  in  the 
expedition.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  reconcile  in  all  their 
details  either  of  the  two  relations,  with  respect  to  distances  and 
courses,  with  the  now  well-known  geography  of  the  country. 
There  is  however  a portion  of  the  journey  which  is  sufficient- 
ly clear  to  throw  light  on  the  object  of  our  inquiry. 

Ferdinand  de  Soto  landed  in  the  year  1539,  on  the  western 
coast  of  East  Florida,  in  the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo,  now  called 
Tampa  Bay,  having  with  him  six  hundred  men  according  to 
the  Portuguese  narrator,  and  twelve  hundred  according  to  Gar- 
cilaso. He  thence  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  the  seacoast 
to  a village  called  Anhayca,  in  the  Province  of  Appalachee. 
This  was  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  a port  into  which  he  or- 
dered his  vessels,  and  which,  from  the  position  designated, 
must  necessarily  have  been  somewhere  in  Apalachee  Bay. 
We  cannot  therefore  err  much  in  placing  Anhayca,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Ockockona  River.  East,  and  not  far  from  it, 
the  names  of  Uzachil  and  Anille  are  mentioned,  and  there  is 
a river  precisely  in  the  same  position,  which  to  this  day  is 


* Catalogue  of  Mr.  Rich,  who  has  a copy  of  the  original  edition. 
The  title  is  “ Relacam  verdadeira  dos  trabalhos  que  ho  Governador 
don  Fernando  de  Souto  y certos  fidalgos  Portugueses  passarom  no 
descobrimento  da  Provincia  la  Frodida.  Agora  novamente  feita  per 
hum  fidalgo  d’Elvas.”  Printed  at  Evora,  1557.  Hakluyt  translated 
and  published  this  work;  Voyages,  &c.  Vol.  V.  (1609.) 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  103 

called  Oscilla.  But  I have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  whether 
this  is,  either  an  Uchee  or  Muskhogee  name,  or  whether  it  may 
not  have  been  subsequently  given  to  the  river  by  the  Spaniards 
in  commemoration  of  De  Soto’s  expedition.  1 have  been  equally 
unfortunate  in  my  inquiries  respecting  the  etymology  of  the 
name  Apalachee  ; whether  it  belongs  to  the  language  of  any  of 
the  existing  nations,  or  whether  it  has  been  perpetuated  from  De 
Soto’s  time.  It  is  certain  that  the  river  Appalachicola  is  known 
to  the  Muskhogees  by  no  other  name  than  that  of  Chatta 
Hatchee,  or  Rock  River.  The  only  name  mentioned  in  that 
vicinity,  having  any  known  affinity  with  an  Indian  language,  is 
that  of  a village  near  the  sea-port,  which  in  the  Spanish 
relation  is  called  Ante.  In  the  Muskhogee  language  autti  or 

o o o 

oty,  means  an  island. 

De  Soto’s  officers  discovered  in  the  course  of  the  winter  an- 
other and  better  port,  sixty  computed  leagues  west  of  Aute. 
This  was  called  Ochuse,  and  must  have  been  either  Pensacola, 
or  the  entrance  of  the  Mobile.  Instead,  however,  of  proceeding 
in  that  direction,  De  Soto,  on  the  information  of  an  Indian  boy, 
determined  to  march  northwardly  in  search  of  a gold  region. 
He  left  Anhayca  in  March,  1540,  and,  in  about  forty  days  of 
actual  march,  reached  a district  called  Cofachiqui  or  Cutifachi- 
quL  Twelve  days’  march  more  in  the  same  direction  brought 
him  to  Xuala  in  the  mountains  ; and  this  was  the  termination 
of  his  travels  northwardly.  The  distance  from  the  vicinity  of 
St.  Mark’s  to  the  sources  of  the  French  Broad  or  of  the 
Hiwassee,  both  tributary  streams  of  the  Tennessee,  is  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  a direct  line.  This  determines 
the  position  of  Cofachiqui , which  was  certainly  on  a river 
emptying  into  the  Atlantic,  not  far  south  of  the  34th  degree  of 
north  latitude,  on  the  Oconee,  or  on  the  Savannah  River.  The 
statement,  therefore,  that,  according  to  Indian  information,  it 
was  but  two  days’  journey  to  the  sea,  is  erroneous.  Between 
Anhayca  and  Cofachiqui,  we  find  the  two  names  of  Achese, 
on  a river  which  the  Spaniards  ascended  some  days,  and  of 
Ocute,  a fruitful  country.  Ochis  is  the  Muskhogee  name  of 
the  Okmulgee  river.*  OJceta  in  the  same  language  means 
woman ; and  Cohivita  in  Uchee  means. man,  and  is  the  well- 
known  name  of  a Creek  town.  These  detached  names  afford 
but  a slight  indication  of  that  part  of  the  country  having  been 


* Ochis  hatchee,  Hickory-leaf  river.  Rev.  L,  Compere’s  information. 


104 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIKES.  [iNTROD. 


at  that  time  occupied  by  the  Creeks.  But  from  Cofacbiqui  to 
the  Mississippi,  we  have  a continued  series  of  names,  which 
seems  to  leave  no  doubt  respecting  the  several  nations  along 
De  Soto’s  line  of  march,  from  the  time  he  left  Cofachiqui. 

In  seven  days’  march  due  north  from  that  place,  he  came 
to  Chalaque,  which  cannot  be  mistaken,  since  it  is  the  proper 
name  of  the  Cherokees  or  Chelokees.  From  Kuala , his 
course  was  westwardly,  bending  to  the  south.  In  five  days, 
crossing  some  bad  mountains  he  arrived  at  Quaxule  ; in  two 
days  more  at  Cariasaqua  or  Canasauga,  and  in  five  days  more 
at  Cliiaha  or  Ichiaha,  situated  on  the  bank  of  a river,  and 
opposite  the  upper  end  of  an  island.  This  was  an  abundant 
country,  where  the  Spaniards  rested  thirty  days  in  order  to  re- 
cruit their  horses.  Connesauga  is,  at  this  moment,  the  Chero- 
kee name  of  a creek  that  empties  into  the  Coosa  at  New 
Echota  ; and  Echoy  is  that  of  a well-known  Cherokee  town, 
situated,  not  indeed  on  the  same  spot  as  Ichiaha,  but  in  the 
fork  of  Tugaloo  and  Savannah  rivers  ; whilst  Ichiaha  must 
have  been  on  the  Coosa,  probably  some  distance  below  the  site 
of  New  Echota.  But  we  have  repeated  instances,  such  as 
Echota,  Coweta,  Tallisee,  Piqua,  &c.,  of  the  Indians  having 
favorite  names  for  towns,  which  they  transfer  successively  to 
their  several  villages.  There  cannot,  therefore,  I think,  be 
any  doubt  that  the  Cherokees  occupied  at  that  time  the  same 
territory  south  of  the  mountains,  in  which  they  were  found 
one  hundred  and  forty  years  later.  And  it  is  remarkable  that 
the  line,  which  then  separated  them  from  the  Coosa  country, 
is  almost  in  the  same  place  as  that  which  till  lately  divided  the 
Cherokees  from  the  Creeks. 

After  leaving  A.coste  a short  distance  west  of  Ichiaha,  the 
Spaniards  entered  the  territory  of  Coosa,  through  which  they 
travelled  from  fifteen  to  twenty  days,*  passing  through  the 
populous  village  of  Coosa,  and  arriving  at  Tallisee,  another 
large,  fortified,  and  apparently  frontier  town,  subject  to  the 
Cacique  of  Coosa,  and  situated  on  a rapid  river.  The  two 
names  of  Coosa  and  Tallisee  afford  a decisive  proof  that  the 
country  was  then,  as  now,  in  the  possession  of  the  Muskhogees. 
It  is  equally  clear,  that,  from  the  vicinity  of  the  last-mentioned 
place,  until  he  reached  the  Mississippi,  Be  Soto  was  in  the 


* There  is  a disagreement  here  between  the  Portuguese  and  the 
Spanish  relations.  I have  taken  the  medium. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OE  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  105 

Choctaw  or  Chickasa  country.  We  find  the  names  of  Tascaluca 
or  Tuscalusa,  “Black  Warrior,”  a pure  Choctaw  name  derived 
from  Tushka,  “ warrior,”  and  Litsa,  “ black,”  and  which  is  that 
of  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Tombigbee  ; that  of  the  province 
of  Pafalaya,  the  precise  meaning  of  which  I do  not  know, 
but  which  is  clearly  derived  from  the  Choctaw  word  Falaya, 
“long”;  that  of  the  town  of  Maville  or  Mauvila,  identical  with 
that  of  Mobile,  and  given  by  Du  Pratz  to  the  Mobilians,  a 
Choctaw  tribe;  that  of  the  chief  Nicalusa,  probably  “Black 
bear,”  from  Nitah,  bear,  and  Lusa,  black  ; and  finally  that  ot 
Chicasa  itself,  given  to  a village  situated  within  the  territory 
now  occupied  by  the  Chicasas.* 

We  may  thence  fairly,  and  as  I think  conclusively,  infer 
that  the  Cherokees,  Chicasas,  and  Choctaws  occupied  then 
nearly  the  same  territories  as  at  the  present  time ; and  that  the 
Muskhogees  were  then,  as  now,  seated  on  the  Coosa,  to  the 
east  of  the  Choctaws.  But  we  have  no  proof  of  the  extent  of 
their  progress  toward  the  Atlantic.  It  is,  indeed,  probable 
that  the  seashores  of  Georgia,  as  well  as  of  West  Florida, 
were  then  occupied  by  different  tribes  now  extinct.  We  know 
that  the  Indians  of  that  peninsula  were  a distinct  nation  or 
nations  from  the  Muskhogees;  and  that  they  were  subsequently 


* I incline  to  the  opinion,  that  De  Soto  left  the  Coosa  river  at  Tallisee, 
and  marched  thence  westward  to  the  Tuscaloosa  or  Black- warrior  river, 
which  he  descended  a short  distance  to  Maville.  It  would  appear  from 
the  Portuguese  relation,  that  the  Spaniards,  in  about  four  days’  march 
from  Tallisee,  arrived  at  the  town  of  Piache,  called  by  Garcilaso,  Tus- 
caluza,  situated  upon  a great  river,  which  from  that  account  must  have 
been  distinct  from  the  Coosa,  and  across  which  Soto  carried  his  army. 
The  division  line  between  the  Creeks  and  the  Choctaws  now  is,  and 
probably  was  at  that  time,  a river  or  a ridge,  and  therefore  a north  and 
south  and  not  an  east  and  west  line.  I think  also  that  De  Soto  must 
have  necessarily  crossed  the  Mississippi  at  the  northern  extremity  of  that 
immense  swamp,  which  extends  northwardly  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  River,  and  covers  almost  the  whole 
ground  between  that  river  and  the  Mississippi.  It  is  impossible  that 
he  should  have  penetrated,  or  attempted  to  penetrate  through  the  heart 
of  that  swamp,  so  as  to  cross  the  Mississippi  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Arkansas.  It  is  equally  clear  from  the  details  given,  that,  just  before 
crossing  the  great  river,  he  was  on  the  northern  edge  of  the  swamp. 
This  determines  the  position  of  the  place  where  he  crossed,  between 
the  35th  degree  of  north  latitude  and  the  mouth  of  St.  Francis  River. 
But  whether  mistaken  or  not  on  those  points,  it  does  not  afi'ect  in  the 
least  the  proofs  of  the  actual  place  of  residence  at  that  time  of  the 
several  Indian  Nations. 


VOL,  II. 


14 


106 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


subjugated  or  destroyed  by  the  Seminoles.  The  Coloosas,  the 
last  remnant  of  those  Florida  Indians,  had  been  driven  to  some 
of  the  Keys  lying  near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  penin- 
sula. “ Even  here  the  water  did  not  protect  them  against  the 
inroads  from  the  Creeks  ; and,  in  1763,  the  remnant  of  this 
people,  consisting  of  about  eighty  families,  left  this  last  pos- 
session of  their  native  land  and  went  to  the  Havanna.”  * * * § 

The  accounts  of  the  attempt  by  the  French,  in  the  years 
1562  - 1567,f  to  make  a settlement  on  the  coast  of  Florida 
and  Georgia,  prove  also  clearly  that  the  Indians  in  that  quarter, 
instead  of  bein'?  united  under  a confederate  government,  were 
divided  into  a number  of  small,  independent  tribes,  always  at 
war  with  each  other.  None  of  those  now  remains,  unless  some 
may  have  been  incorporated  in  the  Creek  confederacy.  The 
few  words  which  have  been  preserved  of  their  language  appear, 
with  two  exceptions,  foreign  to  the  Muskhogee  and  to  the 
Choctaw.  Those  two  are  Antipola.  Bonnason,  by  which  the 
Indians  greeted  the  French,  on  their  arriving  amongst  them  the 
second  time,  and  which  meant  “ Friends.”  Itapela  in  Choctaw 
means  “ allies,”  literally,  “They  help  each  other.” £ In  the 
Muskhogee  inhisse  is  “ his  friends,”  and  ponhisse,  “ our 
friends.”^ 

If  we  were  to  place  implicit  faith  in  the  accounts  given  by 
Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  of  the  number  of  Indians  in  various  places, 
we  should  infer  a greater  population  than  was  found  to  exist 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  later.  Considering  the  sources 
from  which  he  derived  his  information,  the  proneness  of  com- 
mon soldiers  to  swell  the  number  of  enemies,  and  the  habitual 
and  notorious  exaggerations  of  the  Spaniards  of  his  time,  we 
will  in  that  respect  give  the  preference  to  the  more  sober 
statements  of  the  Portuguese  narrator,  who  kills  only  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  Indians  by  the  fire  and  sword  at  the  storming 
of  Mauvila,  whilst  Garcilaso  swells  the  number  to  eleven  thou- 


* B.  Romans’  Florida,  page  291.  He  calls  the  Keys,  Vacos  and 
Huyso,  and  represents  the  tribe  as  a set  of  most  inhuman  wreckers. 

f For  an  able  discussion  of  the  places  where  the  French  attempted  to 
make  settlements,  see  Holmes’s  Annals,  a work  of  great  merit,  research, 
and  correctness. 

t Choctaw  Vocabulary. 

§ These  two  words,  Antipola , Bonnason , are  from  Lescarbot.  1 
have  not  seen  the  original  relation  of  Laudonniere. 


SECT.  II!.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  107 

sand.*  In  another  place,  at  Cofaqui  or  Patofa,  the  last  in- 
habited district  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  at  Cofachiqui, 
the  Cacique,  who  was  very  friendly,  gave  them,  according  to 
Garcilaso,  four  thousand  warriors,  to  escort  them  and  four  thou- 
sand retainers  to  carry  their  supplies  and  clothing.  It  must  be 
observed  that  the  total  amount  of  their  baggage  was  such,  that, 
on  their  departure  from  Anhayca,  each  soldier  carried  his  sup- 
ply on  his  back.  On  the  seventh  day  of  their  march  through 
an  uninhabited  country,  the  army  was  arrested  by  the  termina- 
tion of  the  path  which  they  bad  followed  thus  far.  They  were 
then  within  twelve  leagues  of  the  first  village  in  the  province  of 
Cofachiqui,  and  not  one  of  the  eight  thousand  Indian  allies 
could  point  out  the  proper  direction,  which  at  last  was  dis- 
covered by  the  Spaniards  themselves.  And  the  Indian  chief 
assured  De  Soto  that  none  of  his  followers  had  ever  been  in  that 
place,  and  that  in  their  wars  with  the  Indians  of  Cofachiqui, 
those  of  Cofaqui  had  never  passed  over  their  own  frontiers. 
Whether  any  one  Indian  warrior  has  ever  been  found  ignorant 
of  the  way  to  an  enemy’s  village,  hardly  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  distant,  and  through  a country  offering  no  particular 
obstacle,  we  are  able  to  judge.  According  to  the  Portuguese 
narrator,  De  Soto  had  demanded  only  six  hundred  Indians ; and 
when  he  found  himself  at  a loss  which  way  to  pursue,  he  had 
no  other  guide  but  a young  Indian  they  had  brought  from 
Appalache,  and  who  confessed  that  he  did  not  know  where  he 
was.  “The  Indians  of  Patofa  (or  Cofaqui)  had  been  sent  back 
as  soon  as  provisions  began  to  be  scarce,”  though  the  poor 
men  showed  a great  deal  of  trouble  to  leave  the  Christians 
before  they  saw  them  in  a good  country.  The  numbers,  as 
stated  in  the  Portuguese  relation,  are  not  on  the  whole  incon- 
sistent with  a population  nearly  the  same  as  at  this  time.  The 
greatest  apparent  exaggeration  is  perhaps  that  of  the  Cacique 
of  Ocute  sending  two  thousand  Indians  to  De  Soto  with  a pres- 
ent of  some  provisions. 

Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  of  the  respective 
population  of  the  four  great  southern  nations  three  hundred, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  it  appears  certain  that 


* Yet  Garcilaso  did  not  intend  to  impose  on  his  readers,  or  exceed, 
according  to  his  knowledge,  the  bounds  of  credibility.  Born  in  Peru,  he 
was  deceived  by  an  erroneous  analogy,  and  saw  nothing  extraordinary 
in  the  accounts  given  to  him  of  eight  to  twelve  thousand  Indians  cob 
lected  together. 


108 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROfj. 

their  habits  and  social  state  had  not,  during  that  interval, 
undergone  any  material  alteration.  They  were  probably  as 
ferocious,  but  less  addicted  to  war  than  the  northern  Indians. 
Those  of  New  England,  the  Iroquois  tribes,  the  Sauks  and 
Foxes,  had  perhaps  made  equal  progress  in  agriculture  ; but, 
generally  speaking,  the  southern  depended  more  on  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil,  and  less  on  hunting  than  the  Algonkin 
Lenape  tribes.  We  find  the  Spaniards  under  De  Soto  feeding 
almost  exclusively  on  maize,  and  complaining  of  the  want  of 
meat.  Two  hundred  years  later,  Bernard  Romans  says,  that 
near  one  half  of  the  Choctaws  have  never  killed  a deer  during 
their  lives,  and  that,  whilst  in  their  country,  he  had  but  twTo  or 
three  opportunities  of  eating  venison  in  as  many  months. 
Those  southern  tribes  have  also  remained  respectively  united 
together  as  one  nation.  The  Choctaws  and  Chicasas  are  the 
only  exception  of  any  importance  ; and  the  Muskhogees,  as 
has  been  seen,  incorporated,  instead  of  exterminating  subordi- 
nate tribes. 

Several  causes  may  be  assigned  for  those  differences.  Sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  the  Mississippi  and  the  sea,  they  had 
less  room  to  wander  or  to  subdivide  themselves.  Their 
country,  particularly  that  of  the  Choctaws,  supplied  them  with 
less  game  ; whilst,  in  a more  southern  climate,  a greater 
quantity  of  agricultural  products  may  be  procured  with  less 
labor.  Yet,  although  the  men  may  to  some  extent  have 
assisted  the  women  in  the  cultivation  of  the  ground,  the 
greater  part  of  the  labors  of  the  field  still  fell  upon  the  latter; 
and  so  long  as  this  is  the  case,  the  means  of  subsistence  will 
continue  to  be  insufficient  to  promote  any  but  a very  limited 
increase  of  population. 

The  Indians,  as  individuals,  have  preserved  a much  greater 
degree  of  independence  than  is  compatible  with  a more  ad- 
vanced state  of  civilization.  They  will  hardly  submit  to  any 
restraints  ; and  it  is  well  known  that  the  nominal  title  of  chief 
confers  but  little  power,  either  in  war  or  peace,  on  their  leaders, 
whose  precarious  authority  depends  almost  entirely  on  their 
personal  talents  and  energy.  Yet  we  find  that  nominal  dignity 
of  Chief,  Sachem,  Mingo,  or  King,  to  have  been,  but  with  few 
exceptions,  amongst  all  the  Indians,  not  only  for  life  but 
hereditary.*  But  another  institution,  belonging  to  all  the 


* Generally,  but  not  universally,  by  the  female  line.  The  hereditary 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  109 

southern,  and  of  which  traces  may  be  found  amongst  the 
northern  nations,  deserves  particular  consideration. 

Independent  of  political  or  geographical  divisions,  that  into 
families,  or  clans  has  been  established  from  time  immemorial. 
At  what  time,  and  in  what  manner,  the  division  was  first  made, 
is  not  known.  At  present,  or  till  very  lately,  every  nation  was 
divided  into  a number  of  clans,  varying  in  the  several  nations 
from  three  to  eight  or  ten,  the  members  of  which  respec- 
tively were  dispersed  indiscriminately  throughout  the  whole 
nation.  It  has  been  fully  ascertained,  that  the  inviolable  regu- 
lations, by  which  those'  clans  were  perpetuated  amongst  the 
southern  nations,  were,  first,  that  no  man  could  marry  in  his 
own  clan  ; secondly,  that  every  child  belongs  to  his  or  her 
mother’s  clan.  Among  the  Choctaws,  there  are  two  great 
divisions,  each  of  which  is  subdivided  into  four  clans ; and  no 
man  can  marry  in  any  of  the  four  clans  belonging  to  his  divis- 
ion. The  restriction  amongst  the  Cherokees,  the  Creeks,  and 
the  Natches,  does  not  extend  beyond  the  clan  to  which  the 
man  belongs. 

There  are  sufficient  proofs  that  the  same  division  into  clans, 
commonly  called  tribes,  exists  amongst  almost  all  the  other 
Indian  nations.  But  it  is  not  so  clear  that  they  are  subject  to 
the  same  regulations  which  prevail  amongst  the  southern 
Indians.  According  to  Charlevoix,  “ most  nations  are  divided 
into  three  families  or  tribes.  One  of  them  is  considered  as  the 
first  and  has  a kind  of  preeminence.  Those  tribes  are  mixed 
without  being  confounded.  Each  tribe  has  the  name  of  an 
animal.  Among  the  Hurons,  the  first  tribe  is  that  of  the 
Bear  ; the  two  others,  of  the  Wolf  and  the  Turtle.  The 
Iroquois  nation  has  the  same  divisions,  only  the  Turtle  family  is 
divided  into  two,  the  Great  and  the  Little.”* 

The  accounts  are  not  so  explicit  with  respect  to  the  Lenape 
tribes.  Mr.  Heckewelder  indeed  says,  that  the  Delawares  were 
divided  into  three  tribes  ; but  one  of  them,  the  Wolf  or  Minsi, 


principle  may  have  had  its  origin  in  the  primitive  Patriarchal  govern- 
ment. A chief  is  wanted  in  a state  of  society  which  is  one  of  perpetual 
warfare  with  the  adjacent  tribes.  Whatever  cause  may  he  assigned  for 
the  fact,  the  most  ancient  accounts  and  traditions  agree  in  representing 
barbarous  people,  when  first  appearing  as  independent  communities, 
under  a kingly  government.  The  heroic  times  of  Greece,  and  the  petty 
kings,  cotemporary  with  Abraham,  are  familiar  to  all. 

* Vol.  III.  p.  266. 


110 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


had  altogether  separated  from  the  other,  and  was  a distinct 
nation  or  tribe,  and  not  a clan  in  the  sense  now  under  consider- 
ation. According  to  Mr.  Johnston,  the  Shawnoes  have  four 
tribes,  the  Chillicothe,  the  Piqua,  the  Kiskapocoke,  and  the 
Mequachake.  The  first  two,  from  having  given  names  to  dis- 
tinct towns,  would  seem  to  be  living  in  separate  places ; but 
the  fact,  that  the  Mequachake  can  alone  perform  the  religious 
ceremonies  of  the  nation,  gives  it  the  character  of  a clan. 
Whether  the  Totem,  or  family  name  of  the  ChippeWays,  descends 
in  a regular  manner,  or  is  arbitrarily  imposed  by  the  father,  has 
not  been  clearly  explained.  But  Dr.  James  informs  us,  that 
no  man  is  allowed  to  change  his  Totem,  that  it  descends  to  all 
the  children  a man  may  have,  and  that  the  restraint  upon  inter- 
marriage which  it  imposes,  is  scrupulously  regarded.  “They 
profess  to  consider  it  highly  criminal  for  a man  to  marry  a 
woman  whose  Totem  is  the  same  as  his  own  ; and  they  relate 
instances  where  young  men,  for  a violation  of  this  rule,  have 
been  put  to  death  by  their  own  nearest  relatives.”*  But  the 
Chippeways  and  kindred  tribes  are  in  this  manner  much  more 
subdivided  than  the  other  Indians  are  into  clans.  Dr.  James 
gives  a catalogue  of  eighteen  Totems,  and  says,  that  many  more 
might  be  enumerated. 

The  most  direct  testimony  we  have  of  the  similarity,  of  the 
institution  amongst  the  northern  and  southern  Indians,  is  that  of 
Loskiel,  in  his  History  of  the  Moravian  Mission.f  “The  Del- 
awares and  Iroquois  never  marry  near  relations.  According  to 
their  own  account,  the  Indian  nations  were  divided  into  tribes 
for  no  other  purpose,  than  that  no  one  might  ever  either  through 
temptation  or  mistake,  marry  a near  relation,  which  at  present 
is  scarcely  possible,  for  whoever  intends  to  marry,  must  take  a 
person  of  a different  tribe.” 

That  a similar  division  existed  amongst  the  Sioux  tribes,  had 
escaped  former  observers.  But  Dr.  Say,  who  resided  several 
weeks  among  the  Omahaws,  informs  us,  that  they  are  divided 
into  two  great  tribes,  the  Hongashano,  and  the  Ishtasunda.J 
The  first  is  divided  into  eight,  and  the  other  into  five  bands. 
Each  of  these  derives  its  name  from  some  animal,  part  of  an 
animal,  or  other  substance,  which  is  considered  as  the  peculiar 
sacred  object,  or  medicine,  as  the  Canadians  call  it,  of  each 
band  respectively.  The  most  ancient  is  that  of  the  red  maize  ; 


* Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  313. 

% Major  Long’s  Expedition,  Vol.  I.  Chap.  xv. 


f Part  I.  Chap.  v. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  Ill 

the  most  powerful  that  of  the  Wase-ishta  (“male  deer”).  The 
Puncas  are  likewise  divided  into  similar  bands.  Dr.  Say  does 
not  mention  how  those  several  bands  or  clans  are  perpetuated  ; 
but  in  another  place  he  says,  that  “ even  a very  remote  degree 
of  consanguinity  is  an  insuperable  barrier  to  the  marriage 
union.”  * 

I am  indebted  for  the  first  information  respecting  the  object 
of  that  institution  among  the  southern  tribes,  to  the  manuscript 
notes  of  Mr.  Mitchell,  formerly  agent  amongst  the  Creeks, 
communicated  to  me  by  Mr.  Forsyth  ; and  it  has  been  since  fully 
confirmed  by  intelligent  natives  of  the  several  nations.  Since, 
however,  the  Cherokees  and  the  Creeks  have  attempted  to 
substitute,  for  their  ancient  customs,  written  laws  on  the  model 
of  ours,  the  institution  is  falling  into  disuse,  though  very  recent 
instances  have  occurred  of  its  being  enforced. 

According  to  the  ancient  custom,  if  an  offence  was  commit- 
ted by  one  on  another  member  of  the  same  clan,  the  compen- 
sation to  be  made  on  account  of  the  injury  was  regulated  in  an 
amicable  way  by  the  other  members  of  the  clan.  Murder  was 
rarely  expiated  in  any  other  way  than  by  the  death  of  the 
murderer  ; the  nearest  male  relative  of  the  deceased  was  the 
executioner  ; but,  this  being  done  as  under  the  authority  of  the 
clan,  there  was  no  further  retaliation.  If  the  injury  was  com- 
mitted by  some  one  of  another  clan,  it  was  not  the  injured  party, 
but  the  clan  to  which  he  belonged  that  asked  for  reparation. 
This  was  rarely  refused  by  the  clan  of  the  offender  ; but,  in  case 
of  refusal,  the  injured  clan  had  a right  to  do  itself  justice,  either 
by  killing  the  offender  in  case  of  murder,  or  inflicting  some 
other  punishment  for  lesser  offences.  This  species  of  private 
war  was  by  the  Creeks  called  “ to  take  up  the  sticks,”  because 
the  punishment  generally  consisted  in  beating  the  offender. 
At  the  time  of  the  annual  corn-feast,  the  sticks  were  laid  down, 
and  could  not  again  be  taken  up  for  the  same  offence.  But  it 
seems  that  originally  there  had  been  a superiority  amongst 
some  of  the  clans.  That  of  the  Wind  had  the  right  to  take 
up  the  sticks  four  times,  that  of  the  Bear  twice,  for  the  same 
offence  ; whilst  those  of  the  Tiger,  of  the  Wolf,  of  the  Bird, 
of  the  Root,  and  of  two  more,  whose  names  I do  not  know, 
could  raise  them  but  once.f 

* Vol.  I.  Chap.  xiv. 

f The  Cherokees,  according  to  Mr.  Boudinot’s  information,  were 
divided  into  seven  clans,  the  Deer,  the  Wolf,  &c. 


112 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


It  is  obvious,  that  the  object  of  the  unknown  legislator  was, 
to  prevent  or  soften  the  effects  of  private  revenge,  by  trans- 
ferring the  power  and  duty  from  the  blood  relatives  to  a more 
impartial  body.  The  father,  and  his  brothers  by  the  same 
mother,  never  could  belong  to  the  same  clan  as  their  son  or 
nephew  ; whilst  the  perpetual  changes,  arising  from  intermar- 
riages with  women  of  a different  clan,  prevented  their  degen- 
erating into  distinct  tribes,  and  checked  the  natural  tendency 
towards  a subdivision  of  the  nation  into  independent  communi- 
ties. The  institution  may  be  considered  as  the  foundation  of 
the  internal  policy,  and  the  basis  of  the  social  state,  of  the  In- 
dians. It  must  have  contributed  towards  preserving  the  south- 
ern nations  entire  and  compact  as  we  found  them.  It  certainly 
was  not  preserved  in  its  purity  amongst  the  Lenapes  ; and  this 
circumstance  may  have  had  its  share  in  the  great  subdivision 
into  small,  independent  tribes,  and  consequent  impotency,  of 
that  numerous  nation. 

There  were  also  amongst  the  southern  nations  other  institu- 
tions intended  still  more  effectually  to  check  the  spirit  of  revenge 
and  retaliation,  so  universally  indulged  by  every  barbarous 
people  ; and  calculated  to  preserve  either  internal  or  external 
peace.  Such  was,  among  the  Clierokees,  the  City  of  Refuge 
and  Peace,  Echoteh,  where  even  murderers  found  at  least  a 
temporary  asylum.  This  place,  where  a perpetual  fire  was 
kept,  was  the  residence  of  a peculiar  class  of  men,  known  by  the 
name  of  the  “ Beloved  Men,”  in  whose  presence  blood  could 
not  be  shed,  and  who,  even  out  of  the  city  and  wherever  they 
went,  secured  against  any  act  of  violence  those  under  their 
protection.'*  Such  was  also  the  division  of  towns  or  villages 
amongst  the  Creeks,  into  White  towns  and  Red  towns,  distin- 
guished from  each  other  by  poles  of  those  respective  colors. 
Whenever  the  question  of  war  or  peace  was  deliberately  dis- 
cussed at  Thlcocotcho,  the  general  seat  of  government,  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  representatives  of  the  White  towns  to  bring 
forth  all  the  arguments  that  could  be  suggested  in  favor  of 
peace,  f 

* Information  given  by  M.  Boudinot.  These  “ Beloved  Men  ” were 
entirely  distinct  from  the  hereditary  Ming'oes  and  other  chiefs.  Mr. 
Hawkins,  under  the  modest  name  of  Beloved  Man  of  the  Four  Nations, 
did,  during  his  life,  govern  or  at  least  exercise  a very  considerable 
influence  over  the  Creeks,  Choctaws,  and  even  Chicasas  and  Cherokees. 

f Information  from  Mr.  Mitchell  and  Colonel  Hambly.  But  it  refers 
to  customs  falling  into  disuse,  and  of  which  traces  only  remain. 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  113 

The  aristocratical  feature  of  the  institution  of  clans  ap- 
pears to  have  been  general.  Some  superiority  is  everywhere 
ascribed  to  one  of  them  : — to  the  Unamis  among  the  Dela- 
wares ; to  the  Wase-ishta  among  the  Omahaws  ; to  the  Bear 
tribe  among  the  Hurons  and  Five  Nations.  Charlevoix  says, 
that  when  the  Mohawks  put  to  death  Father  Iogues,  it  was  the 
work  of  the  Bear  clan  alone,  and  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts 
of  those  of  the  Wolf  and  of  the  Turtle  to  save  him.*  But  it 
is  among  the  Natches  alone  that  we  find,  connected  together, 
a highly  privileged  class,  a despotic  government,  and  something 
like  a regular  form  of  religious  worship. 

The  Natches  occupied  a territory  of  moderate  extent  on 
the  Mississippi,  and  lived  in  three  villages  near  the  site  of  the 
town  which  lias  preserved  their  name.  The  number  of  their 
warriors,  which  was  estimated  at  twelve  hundred,  appears  from 
the  details  of  their  war  with  the  French  to  have  been  rather 
overrated. 

They  were  divided  into  four  classes  or  clans,  on  the  same 
principle  and  under  the  same  regulations  as  those  of  the  other 
southern  Indian  tribes.  They  worshipped  the  sun,  from  whom 
the  sovereign  and  the  privileged  class  pretended  to  be  descend- 
ed ; and  they  preserved  a perpetual  sacred  fire  in  an  edifice 
appropriated  to  that  purpose.  The  hereditary  dignity  of  Chief 
or  Great  Sun  descended  as  usual  by  the  female  line  ; f and  he 
as  well  as  all  the  other  members  of  his  clan,  whether  male  or 
female,  could  marry  only  persons  of  an  inferior  clan.  Hence 
the  barbarous  custom  of  sacrificing  at  their  funerals  the  consorts 
of  the  Great  Sun  and  of  his  mother.  Her  influence  was  pow- 
erful, and  his  authority  apparently  despotic,  though  checked  by 
her  and  by  some  select  counsellors  of  bis  own  clan. 

Charlevoix  says,  that  most  of  the  nations  of  Louisiana  had  a 
perpetual  fire  in  their  temples.  He  and  Du  Pratz  describe  as 
eyewitnesses  the  temple  and  sacred  fire  of  the  Natches.  Ton- 
ti  saw  the  temple  of  the  Taensas,  then  living  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  which  is  described  in  his  relation  with 
its  usual  exaggeration.  The  worship  of  the  sun  and  fire  by 

* Vol.  I.  Year  1646.  Father  Iogues  was  the  victim  of  his  zeal. 
He  had  with  difficulty  been  saved  three  years  before  by  the  good 
offices  of  the  Dutch  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Orange. 

t Amongst  the  Hurons  the  dignity  of  chief  is  hereditary  through 
the  female  line.  They  believe  him  to  have  issued  from  the  sun.  Char- 
levoix, Y ol.  III. 

VOL.  II. 


15 


114  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

the  Bayagoulas,  a Mississippi  tribe  now  extinct,  is  also  particu- 
larly mentioned  ; and  traces  of  it  are  found  amongst  the 
Cherokees,  the  Choctaws,  and  the  Caddoes  of  Red  River. 

Du  Pratz  asserts  that  the  Taensas  and  the  Chitimachas,  both 
originally  living  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  were  kin- 
dred tribes  of  the  Natches.  But  we  have  a vocabulary  of 
the  Chitimachas,  in  which  no  affinity  is  perceived  with  that  of 
the  Natches.  They  seem  to  have  been  alone  of  their  stock 
in  that  region,  and  according  to  their  tradition  had  come  from 
the  west. 

In  the  year  1729,  on  account  of  a threatened  encroachment 
on  one  of  their  villages,  in  the  expectation  of  being  joined  by 
the  other  Indian  nations,  they  unexpectedly  attacked  and  mas- 
sacred more  than  two  hundred  French  inhabitants.  They 
were  a few  months  after  besieged  in  their  principal  fort  by  the 
French  and  the  Choctaws,  and  driven  from  their  country.  They 
retired  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  where  the  French  pur- 
sued them  ; and  they  experienced  such  losses,  that  they  have 
ever  since  ceased  to  exist  as  a distinct  nation.  What  contrib- 
uted most  to  its  extinction,  was  the  capture  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  women,  who  were  carried  to  St.  Domingo  and  sold  as 
slaves.  The  survivors  took  refuge  at  first  among  the  Chicasas, 
and  subsequently  among  the  Creeks,  with  whom  they  are 
now  incorporated.  They  are  reduced  to  about  three  hundred 
souls,  and  have  preserved  their  language  amongst  themselves, 
but  speak  Muskhogee ; and  it  is  only  through  that  medium  that 
a communication  can  be  held  with  them,  as  there  is  not  a single 
interpreter  of  their  language. 

When,  in  the  year  1826,  Isahlakteh,  the  Natches  chief,  was 
asked  whether  he  was  a Sun,  he  immediately  answered  that  he 
was  not,  for  his  father  was  one.  But  he  was  less  disposed  or  less 
ready  to  answer  the  inquiries  concerning  the  creed  of  his  tribe 
at  this  time.  After  some  conversation  between  him  and 
Colonel  Hambly,  this  gentleman  told  me  that  he  said,  that  the 
sacred  fire  was  no  longer  preserved,  and  that  the  sun  was  to 
them  an  object  of  respect  but  not  of  worship. 


We  know  but  little  more  than  the  names  of  the  other  small 
tribes,  which  formerly  inhabited  the  seashore  between  the  Mo- 
bile and  the  Mississippi,  and  the  two  banks  of  this  last  river, 
or  which  are  still  found  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  within 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  115 

the  boundaries  of  the  United  States,  on  and  south  of  Red 
River. 

Du  Pratz  mentions  in  the  vicinity  of  the  seashore,  and  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  the  Mobilians,  living  near  the  mouth 
of  that  river,  and  speaking  the  Choctaw  language;  the  Pasca- 
goulas  or  Pasca  Ogoulas  (“Bread  nation  ”)  on  the  river  of 
that  name,  now  living  on  Red  River;  and  the  Colapissas  or 
Aqueloupissas  (“  who  hear  and  see  ”),  living  then  not  far  from 
the  site  of  New  Orleans,  but  either  extinct  or  no  longer  known 
by  that  name.  He  says,  that  they  consisted  only  of  twenty 
families,  whilst  Charlevoix  at  the  same  time  (1721)  estimates 
them  at  two  hundred  warriors.  To  these  must  be  added  the 
Boluxas  of  Biloxi,  now  living  below  Natchitoches. 

Those  whom  he  mentions  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, above  New  Orleans,  are  the  Oumas  or  Plumas  (“  Red 
nation”),  of  whom  a few  are  said  to  remain  below  Manchac  and 
others  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Attacapas  ; the  Tuni- 
cas, originally  living  opposite  the  mouth  of  Red  River,  in 
alliance  with  the  French,  nearly  destroyed  by  the  Chicasas  in 
the  course  of  the  Natches  war,  and  the  remnant  of  whom  are 
settled  at  Avoyelle  on  Red  River ; and  the  Yazoos,  who, 
together  with  some  small  kindred  tribes  also  living  on  Yazoo 
River,  amounted  to  two  hundred  families.  They  spoke  Chica- 
sa,  and  were  in  alliance  with  that  nation  and  the  Natches. 
During  the  Natches  war,  they  were  nearly  destroyed  by  the 
Arkansas ; the  residue  of  them  are  now  incorporated  with  the 
Chicasas. 

The  tribes  mentioned  by  the  same  author  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  whose  names  at  least  have  disappeared, 
are  the  B ay agoulas, the  Oque  Loussas,  (“Black  Water,”)  the 
Avoyelles  and  the  Washittas,  driven  away  by  the  Chicasas, 
and  according  to  him  incorporated  with  the  Natchitoches. 

The  most  complete  account  of  the  numerous  small  tribes 
still  existing  west  of  the  Mississippi,  on  Red  River  and  south 
of  it,  is  that  of  Dr.  John  Sibley,  of  Natchitoches.*  They  consist 
partly  of  such  as  had  within  the  memory  of  man  migrated  from 
the  east  side  of  the  river ; partly  of  those  who  were  considered 
as  natives. 

The  first  class  embraces  the  Appalaches,  the  Alibamas,  and 


* President’s  Message  of  February  19th,  1806,  with  the  accompanying 
documents  from  Dr.  Sibley  and  others. 


116  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

the  Conchattas,  who  came  from  the  Creek  country  ; the  Taen- 
sas,  who,  though  originally  living  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  had  in  Du  Pratz’s  time  removed  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  Mobile,  whence  they  have  again  migrated  to  Red 
River  ; the  Humas,  the  Tunicas,  the  Bolwxas,  and  the  Pasca- 
goulas  already  mentioned,  and  the  Pacanas  said  to  have  come 
from  West  Florida.  Dr.  Sibley  asserts  that  each  of  these 
four  last-mentioned  tribes  has  a distinct  language  of  its  own. 

The  second  class  consists  of  the  following  tribes,  to  wit : 

1.  The  Caddoes  or  Caddokies,  who  formerly  lived  three 
hundred  miles  up  Red  River  on  a prairie  near  an  eminence, 
on  which  they  say,  that,  after  all  the  world  had  been  drowned 
by  a flood,  the  Great  Spirit  placed  one  family  of  Caddoes  from 
which  all  the  Indians  have  originated.  They  have  now  re- 
moved to  a branch  of  Red  River  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  above  Natchitoches.  Though  much  diminished 
in  number  by  the  small-pox  and  by  their  wars  with  the  Osages, 
and  reduced  to  about  one  hundred  warriors,  they  are  held  in 
great  consideration  by  all  the  neighbouring  tribes.  Amongst 
these,  the  Nandakoes,  the  hues  or  Tachies,  who  have  given 
their  name  to  the  province  of  Texas,  and  the  Nabedaches, 
amounting  together  to  about  two  hundred  warriors,  speak  dia- 
lects of  the  Caddo  language. 

2.  The  Natchitoches  and  the  Yatassees,  living  fifty  miles 
above  Natchitoches,  amounting  together  to  one  hundred  souls, 
and  speaking  the  same  language,  said  by  Dr.  Sibley  to  be 
different  from  any  other. 

3.  The  Adaize,  living  between  the  Natchitoches  and  the 
Yatassees,  reduced  to  fifty  souls,  speak  a language  totally  dis- 
tinct from  any  other  known  to  us. 

4.  The  Appelousas,  in  the  district  of  that  name,  reduced  to 
forty  men,  said  by  Dr.  Sibley  to  speak  a distinct  language. 

5.  The  Attacapas  (“  Men-eaters  ”) , reduced  to  fifty  men,  said 
to  have  been  formerly  cannibals,  speak  a distinct  language, 
which  according  to  Dr.  Sibley  is  also  spoken  by  another  tribe 
near  the  seashore,  called  Carankouas,  but  who  probably  are 
without  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  Chactoos,  living  on  Bayou  Boeuf,  estimated  at  thirty 
men,  and  having  also,  according  to  Dr.  Sibley,  a distinct  lan- 
guage. 

7.  The  Fanis  or  Towiaches,  on  Red  River,  near  the 
western  boundary  of  the  United  States,  and  having  two 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OE  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  117 

villages  called  Nitebata  and  Towahach,  where  they  cultivate 
corn.  The  Tawakenoes,  who  live  two  hundred  miles  west  of 
Nacogdoches,  south  of  Red  River,  are  said  by  Dr.  Sibley 
to  speak  the  same  language.  This,  from  the  similarity  of 
name,  has  been  presumed  to  be  a dialect  of  the  Pawnees,  of 
the  Arkansa.  At  the  time  of  Major  Long’s  first  expedition, 
they  had  been  driven  from  their  villages  by  the  Osages  ; but 
they  have  probably  returned,  and  are  the  same  nation  with 
those  Indians  who  have  now  villages  on  the  north  of  Red 
River  and  are  designated  by  the  name  of  Towecas  and  Wachos, 
in  a treaty  lately  concluded  with  several  western  tribes.  Be- 
yond the  Panis,  there  are  none  but  erratic  tribes  who  do  not 
cultivate  any  thing. 

To  this  enumeration  we  must  add,  though  not  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Sibley, 

8.  The  Chitimachas,  formerly  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake 
Barataria,  and  still  existing  in  Lower  Louisiana. 

Among  the  various  small  tribes,  the  following  have  Choctaw 
names,  to  wit,  the  Pascagoulas,  “ Bread  nation,”  from  Paska, 
“ bread,”  and  ogoulas,  corrupted  from  okla,  “ nation,  people  ” ; 
the  Aqueloupissas,  “ who  hear  and  see,”  from  hoklo,  “ to 
hear,  ” and  pissa,  “ to  see  ” ; Oumas,  “ Red  people,”  from 
humma,  “red”;  Oqueloussas,  from  oka,  “ water,  ” and  lusa, 
“ black  ” ; to  which  we  might  add  one  of  the  small  Yazoo 
tribes,  mentioned  by  Du  Pratz  by  the  name  of  Oufe  Ogoulas , 
or  “ Dog  nation,”  from  oufe,  “ dog.” 

This  however  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  prove  that  those 
small  tribes  were  Choctaws  or  spoke  dialects  of  that  language, 
unless  the  names  by  which  they  are  known  to  us  were  those  by 
which  they  called  themselves.  The  first  settlement  of  the 
French  was  on  Mobile  River,  and  the  first  tribe  near  the 
mouth  of  that  river  with  which  they  came  in  - contact,  was 
called  Mobilian  and  spoke  Choctaw.  Hence  they  designated 
that  language  by  the  name  of  Mobilian,  and  on  account  of  its 
great  extent  it  was  called  the  common  or  vulgar  tongue.*  In 
the  same  manner  as,  in  the  north,  we  call  to  this  day  two  Sioux 
tribes,  who  speak  languages  altogether  different  from  the  Algon- 
kin,  by  the  Algonkin  names  of  Winnebagoes  and  Assiniboins, 
which  they  do  not  recognise  as  their  own.  The  French  were  in 
the  habit  of  designating  nations  and  objects  not  belonging  to 


* Du  Pratz. 


118  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

the  Choctaws,  by  the  names  which  that  people  had  imposed  on 
them.  Of  this  we  have  at  least  two  instances  in  point.  The 
name  of  Achafalaya,  the  principal  western  outlet  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, is  pure  Choctaw,  meaning  “ the  long  river,”  from 
hucha,  “ river,”  and  falaya,  “ long.”*  And  the  name  of  the 
Atiacapas,  “ Men-eaters,”  whose  language,  as  appears  by  their 
vocabulary,  is  totally  different  from  the  Choctaw,  is  that  which 
had  been  given  to  them  by  this  nation,  derived  from  hottok,  “ a 
person,”  and  uppa,  “ to  eat.”  As,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Natches,  we  have  no  vocabularies  of  any  of  the  smaller  tribes 
originally  living  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  which  were 
contiguous  to  the  Choctaws,  the  presumed  identity  of  lan- 
guage remains  uncertain.  It  will  be  perceived  by  Dr.  Sibley’s 
account,  that  six  of  these  are  still  existing,  to  wit,  the  Taen- 
sas,  the  Humas,  the  Boluxas,  the  Pacanas,  the  Tunicas,  and 
the  Pascagoulas  ; the  four  last  of  which  he  asserts  to  have 
distinct  languages  from  the  Mobilian  or  Choctaw. 

With  respect  to  the  tribes,  natives  of  the  western  side  of 
the  Mississippi,  exclusively  of  the  Panis,  who  live  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  Dr.  Sibley  states  that 
they  speak  six  distinct  languages,  to  which  must  be  added  that 
of  the  Chitimachas  not  mentioned  by  him.  We  have  vocab- 
ularies of  four  of  these,  viz.,  of  the  Attacapas  and  of  the 
Chitimachas,  taken  by  Mr.  Duralde  and  by  him  transmitted 
to  Mr.  Jefferson ; and  of  the  Adaize,  and  of  the  Caddoes, 
transmitted  by  Dr.  Sibley  to  Mr.  Duponceau.  We  have  made 
but  partial  use  of  the  last,  having  received  one  much  more 
copious  from  Mr.  George  Gray,  the  Indian  Agent.  The  three 
still  wanted  are  those  of  the  Natchitoches,  of  the  Opelousas,  and 
of  the  Chactoos.  The  four  which  have  been  obtained,  fully 
justify  Dr.  Sibley’s  assertion  ; each  of  those  tribes  speaks  a 
distinct  language  and  different  from  any  other  known  to  us.  It 
appears  also  by  a letter  from  Dr.  Sibley  to  Mr.  Duponceau, 
at  the  time  when  he  transmitted  the  Adaize  and  Caddo  vocab- 
ularies, that  he  had  actually  obtained  those  of  some  of  the 
other  tribes,  to  the  peculiarities  of  which  he  alludes.  These 
have  not  been  received. 

From  the  Arctic  Sea  to  the  fifty-second  degree  of  north 


* There  are  two  Choctaw  words  for  river  viz.  hucha,  of  the  same 
origin  with  the  Muskhogee  hatchee,  and  olchina,  probably  “water- 
course.” 


SECT.  III.]  SOUTHERN  INDIANS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  119 

latitude,  across  the  continent  of  America  from  the  Atlantic 
almost  to  the  Pacific,  vve  have  not  found  more  than  two  great 
families  of  languages,  the  Eskimaux  and  the  Athapascas. 

South  of  these,  as  far  as  the  thirty-fifth  or  thirty-sixth  degree 
of  latitude,  two  other  families,  the  Algonkin-Lenape  and  Iro- 
quois, filled  the  whole  space  between  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Mississippi  or  the  meridian  which  passes  by  its  sources.  Anoth- 
er great  family,  that  of  the  Sioux,  extends  equally  far  from 
north  to  south,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  With  the 
exception  of  a doubtful  tribe  (the  Loucheux),  there  is  not  to 
be  found,  in  the  extensive  territory  occupied  by  those  five 
families,  a single  tribe  or  remnant  of  a tribe,  that  speaks  a 
dialect,  which  does  not  belong  to  one  or  another  of  those  five 
families. 

On  the  contrary,  in  the  comparatively  small  territory  south 
of  the  Lenape  and  Iroquois  tribes,  and  including  that  portion  of 
the  State  of  Louisiana  which  lies  west  of  the  Mississippi,  we 
find,  allowing  even  the  Muskhogee  and  Choctaw  to  be  but  one, 
three  extensive  languages,  the  Catawba,  the  Cherokee,  and  the 
Choctaw  Muskhogee,  and  six  well  ascertained  of  small  tribes  or 
remnants  of  tribes,  to  wit,  the  Uchee,  the  Natches,  and  the 
four  abovementioned  west  of  the  Mississippi.  And  there  is  a 
strong  probability  that,  independently  of  the  several  small  extinct 
tribes  of  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida,  which  still  existed 
when  those  countries  were  first  settled,  several  of  those  still 
existing  west  of  the  Mississippi  will  be  found  to  have  distinct 
languages.  It  also  appears  by  the  statements  of  their  respec- 
tive population,  communicated  by  Dr.  Sibley,  and  which  is 
indeed  notorious,  that  those  small  tribes  preserve  their  language 
to  the  last  moment  of  their  existence.* 

The  most  powerful  southern  nations  appear  to  have  been, 
upon  the  whole,  less  exterminating  than  the  northern  Indians. 
It  is  also  probable  that  the  impenetrable  swamps  and  the  multi- 
plied channels  or  bayoux  by  which  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Red  River  country  are  intersected,  have  afforded 
places  of  refuge  to  the  remnants  of  conquered  tribes. 

* The  same  observation  applies  generally  to  all  the  Indian  tribes. 
Instances  have  been  mentioned  in  speaking  of  the  Nanticokes,  the 
Nottoways,  and  the  Long  Island  Indians. 


120 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


SECTION  IV. 

INDIANS  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC 

OCEAN. 

The  Indians  under  this  head  are  divided  into  two  great 
sections  by  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Those  east  of  the  mountains  are  the  Sioux;  the  Pawnees  ; 
the  Fall,  Rapid,  or  Paunch  Indians  ; the  Black  Feet,  and  some 
other  erratic  tribes,  not  so  well  known,  and  which  may  be 
embraced  under  the  general  though  obsolete  denomination  of 
Padoucas.  Some  bands  of  Snake  Indians  or  Shoshonees, 
living  on  the  waters  of  the  river  Columbia,  and  of  Hietans  or 
Camanches,  whose  principal  residence  is  south  of  Red  River 
and  of  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  are  also 
occasionally  found,  either  towards  the  sources  of  the  tributary 
streams  of  the  Missouri,  or  north  of  Red  River.  As  the 
Winnebagoes,  whose  seats  are  near  Lake  Michigan,  speak  a 
dialect  of  the  Sioux  language,  we  have  also  included  them 
under  this  head. 

The  nations  which  speak  the  Sioux  language  may  be  con- 
sidered, in  reference  both  to  their  respective  dialects  and  to 
their  geographical  position,  as  consisting  of  four  subdivisions, 
viz.  the  Winnebagoes ; the  Sioux  proper  and  the  Assiniboins  ; 
the  Minetare  group  ; and  the  Osages  and  other  southern  kin- 
dred tribes. 

The  Winnebagoes,  so  called  by  the  A Igonkins,  but  called 
Puans  and  also  Otchagras  by  the  French,  and  Horoje  (“Fish- 
eaters”)  by  the  Omahaws  and  other  southern  tribes,  call  them- 
selves Hochungohrah,  or  the  “ Trout  ” nation.  The  Green  Bay 
of  Lake  Michigan  derives  its  French  name  from  theirs.  (Baye 
des  Puans).  It  is  not  known  at  what  time  they  separated  from 
the  Sioux  people;  but  it  must  have  been  prior  to  the  settlements 
of  the  French  in  Canada.  Champlain,  in  the  map  annexed 
to  his  Travels,  has  given  an  erroneous  position  to  Lake  Michi- 
gan, which  he  knew  only  from  Indian  information  ; but  he  calls 
it  “ Lac  des  Puans.”  They  are  first  mentioned  by  Father 
Allouez  in  the  Relation  of  the  year  1669,  at  which  time  they 
occupied  nearly  the  same  territory  as  at  present.  He  says, 
that  they  had  been  nearly  destroyed  thirty  years  before  by  the 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  121 

Illinois,  and  that  they  spoke  a language  altogether  distinct  from 
the  Algonkin  and  the  Iroquois.  They  are  said  by  Charlevoix 
to  have  been,  in  the  year  1701,  in  alliance  with  the  Sauks,  the 
Foxes,  and  the  Potowotamies,  against  both  the  Sioux  and  the 
Iroquois  ; and  he  adds  in  his  journal,  (1721,)  that  they  formerly 
lived  on  the  shores  of  Green  Bay,  but  had  retired  farther  in- 
land. Carver  was  the  first  American  who,  in  the  year  1766, 
travelled  through  their  country,  at  which  time  they  appear  to 
have  been  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Sioux  and  all  their  neigh- 
bours. Pike,  in  1807,  estimated  their  number  at  two  thousand  ; 
but,  according  to  the  War  Department,  they  amount  to  four 
thousand  six  hundred  souls,  and  appear  to  cultivate  the  soil 
to  a considerable  degree.  Their  principal  seats  are  on  the 
Fox  River  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  towards  the  heads  of  the 
Rock  River  of  the  Mississippi,  Their  territory  extends  north- 
wardly towards  the  Wisconsin ; and  they  are  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Menomonies,  on  the  west  by  the  Sauks,  and  on  the 
south  by  the  Potowotamies.  As  their  limits  are  nearly  the 
same  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  it  may  be  presumed 
that  they  have,  during  that  time,  lived  generally  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  Algonkin  tribes  by  which  they  are  surrounded  ; 
but  of  their  former  history  we  know  but  little.  They  took 
part  with  the  British  during  the  last  war  against  the  Ameri- 
cans. Their  vocabulary,  which  was  received  from  the  War 
Department,  had  been  transmitted  by  Mr.  N.  Boilvin,  an 
Indian  agent.  Some  words  were  supplied  by  General  Cass  ; 
and  some  have  been  taken  from  Major  Long’s  account  of  his 
first  expedition. 

The  Sioux  proper,  or  Naudowessies,  names  given  to  them  by 
the  Algonkins  and  the  French,  call  themselves  Dahcotas,  and 
sometimes  Ochente  Shakoans,  or,  “ The  Seven  Fires,”  and  are 
divided  into  seven  bands  or  tribes,  closely  connected  together, 
but  apparently  independent  of  each  other.  They  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  known  to  the  French  before  the  year  1660  ; 
and  they  are  distinctly  mentioned  for  the  first  time,  in  the 
year  1666,  by  Father  Allouez,  then  a missionary  at  Chagoua- 
migong,  towards  the  southwestern  extremity  of  Lake  Superior. 
He  says  that  they  lived  forty  leagues  more  westwardly  in  a 
prairie  country  ; that  they  did  not  cultivate  the  ground  ; that 
they  were  ferocious,  warlike,  and  feared  by  all  their  neigh- 
bours ; and  that  they  spoke  a language  entirely  distinct  from 
any  other  known  to  the  French.  It  has  already  been  stated, 

VOL.  II.  16 


122  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTRO D. 

that  they  had  a war  with  the  Hurons  and  the  Ottowas  of 
Lake  Michigan,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  that  quarter,  and 
compelled  them  to  abandon  the  country.  The  French  carried 
on  a trade  with  them  from  their  post  at  Prairie  du  Chien  on 
the  Mississippi  ; but  it  is  only  very  lately  that  they  have  come 
into  contact  with  the  Americans.  Carver  was  the  first  who 
visited  them,  and  gave  a short  vocabulary  of  their  language, 
which  is  generally  correct.* 

It  may  be  observed  that,  considering  the  short  time  which 
Carver  resided  among  the  Indians,  and  that  he  derived  his  in- 
formation of  the  country  north  of  St.  Anthony’s  Falls  almost 
entirely  from  Indian  reports,  his  geographical  notices  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  were  remarkably  correct.  He  is  the  first 
who  placed  the  sources  of  that  river  within  about  forty  miles 
of  their  actual  position,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Red  Lake  of  the 
Red  River  of  Lake  Winnipek,  and  south  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods.  The  map  annexed  to  the  original  edition  of  his 
Travels  was  published  during  his  life,  in  the  year  1778,  but 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  deemed  authentic  by  the  com- 
missioners who  negotiated  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1783.  The 
pretended  grant  of  lands  from  the  Indians  to  him  is  neither 
alluded  to,  nor  annexed  to  that  original  edition.  It  made  its 
first  appearance  after  his  death,  and  in  subsequent  editions. 

The  four  most  eastern  tribes  of  the  Dahcotas  are  known  by  the 
name  of  Mcndewahlcantoan,  or  “ Gens  du  Lac,”  Wahkpatoan 
and  WahlcpaTcotoan,  or  “ People  of  the  Leaves,”  and  Sisitoans. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  only  one  that  cultivates  the  ground,  and 
occupies,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  a tract  of  country 
extending  from  the  Prairie  du  Chien,  in  the  forty-third,  to  the 
Spirit  Lake,  north  of  the  forty-sixth  degree  of  north  latitude. 
The  three  other,  inhabit  the  country  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  St.  Peter’s,  and  that  on  the  southern  tributaries  of  this 
river,  as  well  as  that  which  lies  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Red 
R iver  of  Lake  Winnipek.  These  four  are  better  known  to  us 
than  the  more  westerly  tribes  ; and  their  aggregate  number 
may  be  fairly  estimated  at  about  five  thousand  souls. 

The  three  westerly  tribes,  the  Yanktons,  the  Yanktoanans, 
and  the  Tetons,  wander  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Mis- 
souri, extending  southerly  to  the  forty-third  degree  of  north 


* That  which  he  has  given  of  the  Chippeways  is  only  a transcript 
of  that  of  La  Hontan,  spelt  according  to  the  English  orthography. 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  123 

latitude  and  some  distance  west  of  the  Missouri,  between  the 
forty-third  and  forty-seventh  degrees  of  latitude.  According  to 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  who  in  their  ascent  up  the  Missouri  had 
frequent  interviews  with  them,  their  number  does  not  exceed 
six  thousand  souls.  Renville,  a half-bleed  Dahcota,  who 
served  as  an  interpreter  in  Major  Long’s  second  expedition,  has 
raised  the  number  to  twenty-one  thousand  six  hundred,  of  whom 
he  allows  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred  to  the  Tetons  alone. 
From  the  still  more  exaggerated  account  he  gave  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Assiniboins,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  still  less 
known  to  us,  very  little  reliance  can  be  placed  on  his  state- 
ments in  that  respect ; and  it  is  believed,  though  our  data  are 
imperfect,  that  the  seven  tribes  together  amount  at  most  to 
twenty  thousand  souls. 

The  western  Dahcota  tribes  have  carried  on  a constant  pred- 
atory war  against  all  the  tribes  living  on  the  Missouri,  or  its 
tributary  streams,  from  the  Mandans  to  the  Osages ; and  the 
eastern  tribes  appear  to  have  been,  from  time  immemorial, 
inveterate  enemies  of  the  Chippeways.  The  government  of 
the  United  States  has,  during  the  last  thirty  years,  used  unre- 
mitted efforts  to  establish  a permanent  peace  between  them, 
and  lately,  it  is  believed,  with  better  hope  of  success. 

The  Assiniboins  (Stone  Indians),  as  they  are  called  by  the 
Algonkins,  are  a Dahcota  tribe,  separated  from  the  rest  of  the 
nation,  and  on  that  account  called  Hoha  or  “ Rebels,”  by  the 
other  Sioux.  They  are  said  to  have  made  part  originally  of 
the  Yanktons  ; but  we  are  not  acquainted  with  their  real  name. 
Their  separation  must  have  taken  place  at  an  earlier  date  than 
has  been  presumed  by  late  writers.  Father  Marquette,  wri- 
ting in  the  year  1669,  from  the  Chagouamigong  Mission,  after 
having  mentioned  the  Nadouessies,  as  a formidable  nation 
speaking  a language  altogether  different  from  the  Algonkin  and 
the  Huron,  adds,  that  the  Assiniponiels  have  almost  the  same 
language  as  the  Nadouessies,  and  live  about  fifteen  days’  jour- 
ney from  the  mission  on  a lake,  which,  from  a map  annexed 
to  that  volume  of  the  Relations,  must  have  been  Lake  Winni- 
pek.  The  only  detailed  account  we  have  of  them  was  given 
by  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  and  is  confirmed  by  subse- 
quent English  writers.  They  formed  an  intimate  connexion 
with  the  Knistinaux  and,  jointly  with  them,  drove  away  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  the  main  Saskachawin  and  of  the  north 
branch  of  the  same  river.  They  also  continued  to  occupy  the 


124  A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

country  bordering  on  the  river,  which  bears  their  name,  and  is 
the  western  branch  of  the  Red  River  of  Lake  Winnipek.* 
It  is  probable  from  its  situation  north  of  the  Yanktons,  that 
this  was  their  original  seat.  Mackenzie  estimates  their  aggre- 
gate number  in  both  places  at  about  five  thousand  souls,  which 
may  be  underrated.  According  to  Renville’s  account,  they 
would  amount  to  twenty-eight  thousand.  Lewis  and  Clarke 
estimate  them  at  sixteen  hundred  warriors,  or  rather  more  than 
six  thousand  souls. 

Another  tribe,  called  Shyennes  or  Cheyennes,  were  at  no 
very  remote  period  seated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Red  River 
of  Lake  Winnipek,  and  have  left  their  name  to  one  of  its 
tributary  streams.  Carver  reckoned  them  as  one  of  the  Sioux 
tribes ; and  Mackenzie  informs  us  that  they  were  driven  away 
by  the  Sioux.  They  now  live  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
river  Shyenne,  a southwestern  tributary  of  the  Missouri.  The 
names  of  the  chiefs  who  signed  the  treaty,  concluded  with 
them  in  1825  by  the  United  States,  are  pure  Dahcota  of  the 
Yankton  dialect,  as  will  be  seen  amongst  the  appended  vocab- 
ularies. It  had  been  thence  concluded  that  they  certainly 
were  a Sioux  tribe.  I have  been  however  assured,  by  a well- 
informed  person  who  trades  with  them,  that  they  speak  a 
distinct  language,  for  which  there  is  no  European  interpreter  ; 
that  the  treaty  was  carried  on,  through  the  medium  of  some 
of  the  Sioux ; and  that  the  Indian  names  subscribed  to  the 
treaty  are  translations  into  the  Sioux  language  of  the  Shyenne 
names  of  the  chiefs.  They  are  estimated  by  Lewis  and  Clarke 
at  sixteen  hundred,  and  by  the  War  Department  at  two  thou- 
sand souls. 

We  have  only  two  vocabularies  of  the  Dahcota  dialects. 
That  of  the  Yanktons  was  obtained  by  Dr.  Say.  That  of  the 
eastern  Dahcotas  of  the  Mississippi  has  been  principally  extract- 
ed from  one  transmitted  by  General  Cass  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment, and  partly  from  those  of  Mr.  Keating  and  Major  Long. 
It  is  probable  that  the  dialects  of  the  Tetons  and  of  the  Assini- 
boins,  though  similar,  differ  from  both.  A few  words  of  that 
of  the  Assiniboins,  supplied  by  Umfreville,  will  be  found  amongst 
the  supplementary  vocabularies. 

* The  source  of  Mouse  River,  a southern  tributary  of  the  Assini- 
boin,  is  within  one  mile  of  the  main  Missouri  River,  about  one  hundred 
miles  above  the  Mandan  village.  The  slightest  variation  in  the  na- 
ture and  elevation  of  the  intervening  ground  would  have  thrown  all 
the  waters  of  the  upper  Missouri  into  Lake  W innipek  and  Hudson’s  Bay. 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  125 

The  Minetares  (Minetaree  and  Minetaries)  consist  of  three 
tribes,  speaking  three  different  languages  which  belong  to  a 
common  stock.  Its  affinities  with  the  Dahcota  are  but  remote, 
but  have  appeared  sufficient  to  entitle  them  to  be  considered  as 
of  the  same  family. 

Two  of  those  tribes,  the  Mandanes,  whose  number  does  not 
exceed  fifteen  hundred,  and  the  stationary  Minetares,  amounting 
to  three  thousand  souls,  including  those  called  Annahawas, 
cultivate  the  soil,  and  live  in  villages  situated  on,  or  near  the 
Missouri,  between  the  forty-seventh  and  forty-eighth  degrees 
of  north  latitude.  They  are  kept  in  a state  of  perpetual 
alarm  by  the  Assiniboins,  the  Tetons,  the  Rapid  Indians,  and 
other  erratic  tribes,  and  have  on  that  account  been  often  obliged 
to  change  the  seat  of  their  villages.  Yet  they  have  been  often 
quarrelling  with  the  Ricaras,  who  like  them  are  an  agricultural 
people  ; and  they  make  often  predatory  expeditions  against  the 
Shoshonees,  in  the  eastern  valleys  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Both  the  Mandanes  and  the  Minetares  consider  themselves  as 
natives  of  that  part  of  the  country.  The  tradition  of  the 
Mandanes  is,  that  they  came  from  under  ground  by  means 
of  a great  vine,  which,  breaking  under  the  weight  of  some  of 
them,  has  left  behind  a part  of  their  nation  whom  they  expect 
to  join  after  death.  The  color  of  the  chief,  who  visited  Wash- 
ington, appeared  less  dark  than  that  of  our  Indians ; and  he 
was  the  only  full-breed  Indian,  ever  seen  by  me,  whose  eyes 
were  of  a bluish  cast.  It  is  believed  that  this  is  the  tribe, 
often  spoken  of  as  white  Indians,  and  which  gave  rise  to  the 
fabulous  account  of  a tribe  descended  from  the  Welsh  and 
speaking  their  language  ; a tale,  which  the  knowledge  we  have 
now  acquired  of  the  various  Indian  nations  and  of  their  dialects 
has  set  at  rest. 

The  third  Minetare  tribe  is  that  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Crow  or  Upsarolca  nation,  probably  the  Keeheetsas  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke.  They  are  an  erratic  tribe,  who  hunt  south  of  the 
Missouri,  between  the  Little  Missouri  and  the  southeastern 
branches  of  the  Yellowstone  River.  According  to  Mr.  Do- 
nald Mackenzie,  who  resides  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone, 
they  have  about  three  hundred  lodges,  and  may  be  computed 
at  three  thousand  souls. 

The  vocabulary  of  the  stationary  Minetares,  and  the  speci- 
men of  the  Crow  or  Upsaroka  dialect,  were  obtained  by  Dr. 
Say.  We  knew  from  Lewis  and  Clarke,  that  the  Mandanes 
spoke  a kindred  dialect,  and  this  has  been  confirmed  by  the 


126 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


significant  names  of  their  chiefs,  subscribed  to  a treaty  with 
the  United  States.  Lewis  and  Clarke  appear  to  have  consid- 
ered the  Rapid,  Fall,  or  Paunch  Indians,  sometimes  also  called 
“ Minetares  of  the  Prairies,”  as  belonging  to  the  same  family. 
But  all  the  subsequent  accounts  agree  in  assigning  to  them  an 
entirely  distinct  language. 

The  southern  Sioux  consist  of  eight  tribes,  speaking  four  or 
at  most  five  kindred  dialects.  Their  territory  originally  extend- 
ed along  the  Mississippi,  from  below  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas 
to  the  forty-first  degree  of  north  latitude.  They  were,  and  still 
are,  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Dahcotas,  on  the  west  by 
the  Pawnees,  on  the  south  by  the  Washitta  and  Red  River 
tribes,  on  the  southwest  by  erratic  nations.  Their  hunting- 
grounds  extend  as  far  west  as  the  Stony  Mountains  ; but  they 
all  cultivate  the  soil,  and  their  most  westerly  village  on  the 
Missouri  is  in  about  the  one  hundredth  degree  of  west  longitude. 

The  three  most  southerly  tribes  are  the  Quappas  or  Arkansas, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name,  and  the  Osages  and 
Kansas,  who  inhabited  the  country  south  of  the  Missouri  and 
of  the  river  Kansas.  Both  the  Osages  and  the  Arkansas  were 
first  seen  by  the  French,  in  the  year  1673,  and  they  always 
remained  in  alliance  with  them.  It  is  not  known  whether 
Quappa  was  the  true  name  of  the  whole  nation,  or  of  only  one 
of  its  tribes  ; and  it  may  be  that  they  are  those  called  Pacahas 
in  the  relation  of  De  Soto’s  expedition.  The  residue  of  the 
Arkansas  is  now  known  only  by  that  name  (( Quappas ).  They 
consist  of  only  five  hundred  souls,  and  still  live  on  the  lower 
parts  of  the  Arkansa. 

The  Osages,  properly  Wausashe,  were  more  numerous  and 
powerful  than  any  of  the  neighbouring  tribes,  and  perpetually  at 
war  with  all  the  other  Indians,  without  excepting  the  Kansas, 
who  speak  the  same  dialect  with  themselves.  They  were 
originally  divided  into  Great  and  Little  Osages ; but  about  forty 
years  ago  almost  one  half  of  the  nation,  known  by  the  name  of 
Chaneers  or  Clermont’s  Band,  separated  from  the  rest,  and 
removed  to  the  river  Arkansa.  The  villages  of  those  several 
subdivisions  are  now  on  the  head  waters  of  the  river  Osage, 
and  of  the  Verdegris,  a northern  tributary  stream  of  the 
Arkansa.  They  amount  to  about  five  thousand  souls,  and  have 
ceded  a portion  of  their  lands  to  the  United  States,  reserving  to 
themselves  a territory  on  the  Arkansa,  south  of  the  thirty- 
eighth  degree  of  north  latitude,  extending  from  the  ninety-fifth 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  127 

to  the  hundredth  degree  of  west  longitude,  on  a breadth  of 
forty-five  to  fifcy  miles.  The  territory  allotted  to  the  Chero- 
kees,  the  Creeks,  and  the  Choctaws,  lies  south  of  that  of  the 
Osage,  extending  in  longitude  from  94°  20'  to  100°,  and  in  lati- 
tude from  the  thirty -seventh  degree  to  the  Red  River,  the  course 
of  which  in  that  quarter  is  east  and  west,  between  the  thirty- 
third  and  thirty-fourth  degrees  of  north  latitude. 

The  Kansas,  who  have  always  lived  on  the  river  of  that 
name,  have  been  at  peace  with  the  Osage  for  the  last  thirty 
years,  and  intermarry  with  them.  They  amount  to  fifteen 
hundred  souls,  and  occupy  a tract  of  about  three  millions  of 
acres,  in  about  the  thirty-ninth  degree  of  north  latitude,  and 
ninety-sixth  to  ninety-eighth  degree  of  west  longitude. 

The  five  other  tribes  of  this  subdivision  are  the  loways  or 
Pahoja,  (Grey  Snow),  the  Missouris  or  Neojehe,  the  Ottoes 
or  Wahtootahtah,  the  Ornahaws  or  Mahas,  and  the  Puncas. 
The  Osages  consider  themselves  the  aborigines  ; but  the  tradi- 
lion  of  these  five  tribes  is,  that  at  a distant  epoch  they,  together 
with  the  Winnebagoes,  came  from  the  north  ; that  the  Winne- 
bagoes  stopped  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Michigan,  while  they, 
continuing  their  course  southerly,  crossed  the  Mississippi,  and 
occupied  the  seats  in  which  they  were  found  by  the  Europeans. 

The  loways  are  mentioned,  perhaps  erroneously,  by  the 
first  French  missionaries,  as  living  east  of  the  Mississippi.  It 
is  certain  that  they  were  driven  away  from  the  banks  of  that 
river  by  the  Sauks  and  Foxes,  with  whom  they  have  contracted 
an  alliance  which  borders  on  submission.  Their  principal 
seats  are  north  of  the  river  Des  Moines ; but  a portion  have 
joined  the  Ottoes,  and  are  said,  though  the  fact  is  not  fully 
ascertained,  to  speak  the  same  dialect. 

The  Missouris  were  originally  settled  at  the  junction  of  the 
river  of  that  name  with  the  Mississippi.  They  were  driven 
away  by  the  Illinois,  were  found  in  the  year  1724  by 
M.  Bourgmont  settled  on  the  Missouri,  about  two  hundred  miles 
above  its  mouth,  near  the  place  where  the  French  fort  Orleans 
stood,  and  have  since  joined  the  Ottoes,  with  whom  they  are 
intermixed,  and  speak  the  same  dialect. 

The  Ottoes  and  the  Ornahaws,  after  several  changes  in  their 
villages,  now  occupy  the  territory  on  the  southwest  side  of  the 
Missouri,  above  and  below  the  mouth  of  the  river  Platte  ; the 
Ornahaws  on  the  north,  and  the  Ottoes  on  the  south  side  of  that 
river.  They  speak  kindred  though  different  dialects.  The 


128 


A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


Puncas,  who  are  settled  on  the  Missouri  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  above  the  Omahaws,  speak  the  same  dialect. 

The  population  of  the  loways  is  estimated  at  twelve  hun- 
dred ; that  of  the  Ottoes  and  Missouris  at  sixteen  hundred,  and 
that  of  the  Omahaws  and  Puncas  at  two  thousand  ; making, 
with  the  Quappas,  Osages,  and  Kansas,  an  aggregate  of  eleven 
or  twelve  thousand  souls.  All  the  nations  speaking  languages 
belonging  to  the  Great  Sioux  Family  may  therefore  be  com- 
puted at  more  than  fifty  thousand  souls. 

The  vocabularies  of  the  Quappas  and  of  the  Osages  are  in 
Mr.  Duponceau’s  collection;  the  first  was  transmitted  to  him 
by  General  Izard,  and  is  spelt  according  to  the  French  orthogra- 
phy ; he  received  that  of  the  Osages  from  Dr.  Murray  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  we  have  another  of  the  same  language  published  by 
Mr.  Bradbury.*  Those  of  the  Ottoes  and  of  the  Omahaws 
were  taken  by  Dr.  Say.  We  have  not  that  of  the  loways  ; 
but  nineteen  words,  supplied  by  Governor  Cass,  seem  to  leave 
no  doubt  of  its  identity  with  the  Ottoes. 


The  Pawnees  speak  a language  altogether  different  from 
that  of  the  Sioux  tribes,  or  of  any  other  Indians  known  to  us  ; 
unless  that  of  the  Panis  or  Towiaches  of  Red  River  should 
be  found  to  be  the  same.  They  consist  of  two  nations,  the 
Pawnees  proper,  and  the  Ricaras  or  Aricaras,  sometimes  also 
called  Black  Pawnees. 

The  Pawnees  proper  inhabit  the  country  on  the  river  Platte, 
west  of  the  Ottoes  and  Omahaws : their  three  villages,  two  of 
which  are  distinguished  by  the  names  of  Loup  Pawnees  and 
Republican  Pawnees,  are  now  in  the  same  vicinity  on  the 
river  Loup,  a northern  tributary  of  the  river  Platte,  about  sixty 
miles  above  the  confluence  of  those  two  rivers.  They  raise 
corn  and  other  vegetables,  but  apply  still  less  to  agriculture 
than  the  Ottoes  and  Omahaws.  They  hunt  southerly  as  far  as 
the  Arkansa,  and  westerly  to  the  sources  of  the  river  Platte. 
They  were  seen  by  Bourgmont,  in  1724,  in  the  same  country 
which  they  now  occupy,  but  were  not  known  to  us  before  the 
acquisition  of  Louisiana.  Their  number,  by  the  concurrent 
accounts  of  General  Pike  and  Major  Long,  amounts  to  six 


* The  words  in  the  appended  vocabulary  of  the  Osage,  taken  from 
those  two  sources,  have  accidentally  been  confounded. 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  129 

thousand  five  hundred  souls ; their  vocabulary  was  taken  by 
Dr.  Say. 

The  Ricara  villages  are  situated  on  the  Missouri,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  below  the  Mandanes,  in  latitude  46-P. 
They  cultivate  the  soil,  and  are,  like  the  Mandanes,  always 
exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  erratic  tribes.  They  accordingly 
had  formerly  united  with  them,  and  were  settled  together 
twenty  miles  below  the  present  site  of  the  Mandane  villages. 
They  quarrelled  and  separated,  since  which  time  they  have 
had  also  a short  war  with  the  United  States.  They  appear 
now  to  be  at  peace  with  their  neighbours,  and  are  computed  at 
three  thousand  souls.  All  the  accounts  of  the  Indians  and  of 
the  interpreters  agree  in  the  fact  of  their  speaking  Pawnee, 
but  we  have  no  vocabulary  of  their  language. 

We  have  now  enumerated  all  the  Indian  tribes  west  of 
the  Mississippi  which  cultivate  the  soil  ; and  it  has  been  seen, 
that  north  of  the  Red  River  they  consist  only  of  the  Sauks  and 
Foxes,  who  are  Algonkins ; of  the  Pawnees;  and,  amongst 
the  Sioux  tribes,  of  those  only  which  belong  to  the  southern 
group,  and  of  the  Mandanes  and  stationary  Minetares.  The 
six  western  tribes  of  the  Dahcotas,  the  Assiniboins,  the  Crows, 
and  all  the  other  tribes  not  yet  enumerated,  whether  east  or 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  cultivate  nothing  whatever ; and 
those  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  subsist  principally  on  the 
meat  of  the  buffalo.  But  whether  erratic,  or  agricultural, 
there  is  a marked  difference  between  the  habits  and  character 
of  all  the  Indians,  who  dwelt  amidst  the  dense  forest  which 
extends  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi,  and  those  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  western  prairie.  These  are  everywhere  less 
ferocious  than  those  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mississippi. 
Like  all  savages,  they  put  to  death  the  prisoners  taken  in 
battle  ; but  the  horrid  practice  of  inflicting  on  them  the  most 
excruciating  torture  for  days  together,  does  not  appear  to  have 
prevailed  anywhere  beyond  the  Mississippi.  These  observa- 
tions seem,  however,  to  apply  more  forcibly  to  the  southern 
cultivating  tribes  of  the  Sioux  family  and  to  the  Pawnees. 
Dr.  Say,  during  his  residence  amongst  the  Omahaws,  collected 
some  important  facts,  which  are  equally  applicable  to  their 
neighbours  on  the  south  of  the  Missouri,  of  either  of  those  twq 
families. 

They  reside  in  their  villages  at  most  five  months  of  the  year, 
principally  for  the  purpose  of  planting,  cultivating,  and  gathering 

VOL.  II.  17 


130  A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

maize  and  a few  other  vegetables.  Two  winter  months  are 
employed  by. the  men  in  hunting  beaver  and  other  fur  animals. 
During  the  rest  of  the  year,  the  whole  population  remove  to 
the  buffalo  grounds,  subsist  on  its  meat,  and  preserve  a portion 
of  it. 

They  address  prayers  to  Wahconda,  the  Creator  and  Pre- 
server of  the  world,  to  whom  they  ascribe  infinite  power  and 
omnipresence.  But,  although  they  believe  in  a future  life,  it 
cannot  be  said  that  this  vague  belief  has  any  important  influence 
over  their  conduct.  Like  all  the  other  Indians,  they  put  more 
faith  in  their  dreams,  omens,  and  jugglers,  in  the  power  of 
imaginary  deities  of  their  own  creation,  and  of  those  consecrated 
relics  to  which  the  Canadians  have  given  the  singular  appel- 
lation of  medicine. 

The  Missouri  Indians  of  the  male  sex  exceed  in  height  the 
ordinary  average  of  the  Europeans  ; but  the  women  are  in 
proportion  shorter  and  thicker.  The  average  facial  angle  is 
78°,  (that  of  the  Cherokees  75°) ; the  transverse  line  of 
direction  of  the  eyes  is  rectilinear ; the  nose  aquiline ; the  lips 
thicker  than  those  of  the  Europeans  ; the  cheek-bones  promi- 
nent, but  not  angular.*  The  recently  born  infants  are  of  a 
reddish  brown  color,  which  after  a while  becomes  whiter,  and 
then  gradually  assumes  that  tint,  which  is  not  perfectly  uniform 
amongst  all  the  Indians,  and  which,  for  want  of  a better 
approximation,  we  call  copper  color.  They  designate  that  of 
the  European  by  woi'ds  which  mean  white  or  pale.  Theirs  is 
not  the  effect  of  exposure,  as  all  parts  of  the  body  present  the 
same  appearance.f  The  women  marry  very  young,  bear 
children  from  the  age  of  thirteen  to  forty,  and  have  generally 
from  four  to  six. 

The  Indians  who  cultivate  the  soil,  are  perpetually  exposed 
to  the  attacks  of  the  wandering  tribes.  Those  of  the  Missouri 
had  also  for  enemies  the  Sauks  and  Foxes,  who  have  acted  too 
much  in  that  quarter  the  same  part  as  the  Five  Nations  in 


* The  superiority  of  this  family  of  Indians  struck  the  French,  who 
called  the  Arkansas  Beaux  Hommes.  The  Osages,  who  visited  Wash- 
ington and  New  York  twenty-five  years  ago,  were  the  finest  race  of 
Indians  ever  seen  in  our  Atlantic  cities,  and  answered  the  description 
of  the  Omahaws  given  by  Dr.  Say.  That  gentleman  omits  another 
uniform  physical  character,  straight  black  hair  and  black  eyes. 

f Captain  Clavering  says,  that  an  Eskimau  boy  of  East  Greenland, 
after  being  thoroughly  washed,  was  of  a copper  color. 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  131 

theirs;  but  they  had  also  continual  quarrels,  often  degenerating 
into  actual  hostilities,  between  themselves.  These  originated 
in  encroachments  on  hunting-grounds,  elopement  or  carrying  off 
of  women,  and  stealing  of  horses.  During  their  temporary 
absence  from  their  villages,  cornfields  and  provisions  in  store 
appear  to  have  been  generally  respected  by  straggling  parties, 
even  of  enemies;  with  the  understanding,  however,  that 
Indians  when  hungry  have  a right  to  feed  on  any  provisions 
which  they  discover,  and  may  actually  want  for  that  purpose. 
But  it  is  in  their  mode  of  warfare,  either  amongst  themselves, 
or  against  other  tribes,  that  we  find  a decisive  proof  of  much 
less  ferocious  habits,  than  those  which  characterize  the  Indian 
who  dwells  in  the  forests  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Atlantic. 

The  enemies  wounded  in  battle  are  killed  on  tbe  spot,  but 
W’ithout  any  particular  act  of  cruelty,  and  rarely  if  ever  scalped. 
The  prisoners  carried  home  are  neither  tortured  nor  put  to 
death.  The  women  are  made  slaves  ; the  men  are  considered 
as  servants,  and  generally  employed  in  taking  care  of  the 
horses,  and  in  other  menial  offices,  but  not  in  raising  corn,  that 
being  woman’s  work.  The  children  are  almost  always  adopted 
into  the  nation. 

Amongst  the  exploits  which  are  the  boast  of  their  warriors, 
that  which  confers  the  highest  distinction  is  to  take  a prisoner 
alive  ; the  next,  to  strike  with  a lance  or  some  other  weapon 
an  enemy  alive  ; the  third,  that  of  striking  in  the  same  manner 
the  dead  body  of  an  enemy  in  presence  of  his  friends  ; the 
fourth,  taking  a horse;  last  of  all,  shooting  an  enemy  at  a 
distance  with  a bullet  or  arrow,  this  being  that  which  any  one 
can  do. 

It  is  but  just  to  observe,  that  traces  of  chivalry  were  also 
found  amongst  our  eastern  Indians.  It  was  a settled  rule 
amongst  them,  that  those  who  killed  stragglers,  should  leave 
marks  designating  to  what  tribe  those  who  had  committed  the  act 
belonged.  But  if  done  in  the  vicinity,  or  even  in  the  heart,  of 
the  village  of  an  enemy,  the  warrior  was  bound,  at  the  moment 
he  took  off  the  scalp,  to  raise  the  warwhoop,  thus  giving  notice 
of  the  deed,  and  trusting  to  his  own  superior  swiftness  and  skill 
for  escaping  the  immediate  pursuit  of  an  enraged  and  unforgiv- 
ing foe.* 


* The  fact,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  Delawares,  was  fully  confirmed 
by  General  Douglass  of  Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania,  a gentleman  of 


132  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

It  may  be  added,  in  reference  to  the  Missouri  Indians,  that 
the  annua]  sacrifice  of  a prisoner,  a practice  which  prevailed 
amongst  the  Pawnees,  and  .was  lately  abolished  by  the  coura- 
geous exertions  of  a celebrated  chief,  affords  an  additional  proof 
of  the  comparatively  humane  manner  in  which  prisoners  were 
generally  treated  by  them. 


Two  wandering  and  purely  hunting  nations,  the  Fall,  Rap- 
id, or  Paunch  Indians,  improperly  called  Minetares  of  the 
Prairie,  and  the  Black  Feet,  have  their  principal  seats  on  the 
south  fork  of  the  Saskachawin.  Their  hunting-grounds  ex- 
tend as  far  south,  as  the  sources  of  the  Yellowstone  River  and 
of  its  various  tributary  streams.  The  Rapid  Indians  are  the 
most  easterly  tribe,  and  are  more  generally  found  between  the 
Saskachawin  and  the  Missouri  in  the  vicinity  of  and  above  the 
Mandane  village.  They  have  about  three  hundred  lodges,  and 
are  estimated  at  three  thousand  souls.  The  Arrapahoes  (or 
Arrapahays)  are  a detached  tribe  of  that  nation,  which  has  late- 
ly wandered  as  far  south  as  the  river  Platte  and  the  Arkansa, 
where  they  formed  a temporary  union  with  the  Kaskaias  (or 
Kaskayas)  and  some  other  erratic  tribes.  Although  intimately 
connected  with  the  Black  Feet,  they  speak  a distinct  language. 

The  Black  Feet  are  one  of  the  most  powerful  Indian  na- 
tions known  to  us.  Tiieir  lodges  are  estimated  at  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred,  and  their  population  at  thirty  thousand. 
They  occupy,  as  hunting-grounds,  the  whole  territory  west  of 
the  Minetares  and  of  the  one  hundred  and  third  degree  of  west 
longitude  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  extending  from  the 
fifty-second  to  the  forty-second  degree  of  north  latitude. 
They  carry  on  a perpetual  war  against  the  Flat  Heads,  the 
Shoshonees,  and  other  tribes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  whom 
they  confine  within  the  mountains,  and  prevent  from  hunting 
in  the  buffalo  country.  They  are  always  at  war  with  the 
Crows  and  other  Minetares  ; but  they  appear  to  act  on  the 


the  most  strict  veracity  and  integrity,  who  during  his  youth  had  resided 
amongst  them,  and  is  said  to  have  spoken  the  language  as  a native. 
I regret  that,  during  an  intimacy  of  seventeen  years,  not  having  at  that 
time  turned  my  attention  to  the  subject,  I neglected  so  favorable  an 
opportunity  of  obtaining  the  most  correct  information  respecting  the 
language  of  that  tribe. 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  133 

defensive  against  the  Knistinaux  and  the  Assiniboins,  who  have 
in  fact  driven  them  away  from  the  easterly  portion  of  the 
Saskachawin  country,  and  call  them  the  Slave  Nation.*  We 
have  as  yet  no  other  vocabulary  of  those  two  nations  and  of 
the  Assiniboins,  but  the  scanty  one  of  Umfreville.  It  is 'how- 
ever sufficient  to  show,  that  the  Assiniboins  are,  as  they  have 
been  uniformly  stated,  a branch  of  the  Sioux  family  ; and  that 
the  languages  of  the  Rapid  Indians  and  of  the  Black  Feet 
are  distinct  from  each  other,  and  different  from  any  other 
known  to  us. 

r It  will  be  perceived  by  an  inspection  of  the  map,  that,  with 
the  exception  of  some  detached  bands  of  the  Slroshonees  or 
Snake  Indians,  who  occasionally  cross  over  to  the  head  waters 
of  the  Yellowstone  and  of  the  river  Platte,  the  only  Indians 
within  the  United  States,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  not 
included  in  the  preceding  enumeration,  are  those  who  may 
wander  between  the  upper  waters  of  the  river  Platte  and  the 
Red  River,  west  of  the  Pawnees,  Kansas,  and  Osages.  They 
were  designated  by  Bourgmont,  in  1724,  by  the  name  of 
Padoucas  ; an  appellation  which  seems  to  have  disappeared. 
The  Panis,  or  Towiaches  of  Red  River,  have  fixed  villages, 
and  have  already  been  mentioned.  The  Hietans,  or  Caman- 
ches,  are  within  the  Mexican  dominions  ; and  some  stragglers 
only  are  occasionally  seen  within  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.  Three  tribes  appear  to  wander  and  hunt  within  their 
limits  in  that  quarter,  or  along  the  Mexican  boundary,  between 
the  thirty-fourth  and  forty-first  degrees  of  north  latitude.  These 
are  the  Kaskaias  or  Bad  Hearts,  the  Kinawas  (or  Kioways),  and 
the  Bald  Heads,  who,  united  with  detached  bands  of  the  Arra pa- 
hoes,  of  the  Shyennes,  and  even  of  the  Shoshonees,  were  met 
on  the  Arkansa  by  Major  Long’s  detachment  during  his  first 
expedition.  The  vocabularies,  which  Dr.  Say  had  taken  of 
the  languages  of  the  Kaskaias  and  the  Kiawas,  have  been  un- 
fortunately  lost.  We  only  know,  that  both  were  harsh,  guttur- 
al, and  extremely  difficult.  It  is  a remarkable  circumstance, 


* The  information  respecting  the  Crows,  the  Rapid  Indians,  and 
the  Black  Feet,  has  been  principally  derived  from  Mr.  Kenneth  Mac- 
kenzie, who  is  at  the  head  of  the  establishment  of  the  American  Mis- 
souri Fur  Company  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  ; and  from  whom 
I hope  to  receive  in  the  course  of  next  year  correct  vocabularies  of 
those  and  other  adjacent  tribes.  The  Paegan  and  Blood  Indians  are 
subdivisions  of  the  Black  Feet. 


134  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

that  none  of  those  tribes  understood  the  language  of  any  of 
the  others;  and  that  they  communicated  together  partly  by 
what  is  called  the  “ language  of  signs,”  partly  through  the 
medium  of  the  Crow,  which  was  not  the  native  language  of 
either  of  them.  Their  number  has  been  estimated  at  only 
fourteen  hundred  souls  by  the  Indian  Department,  and,  includ- 
ing other  small  bands  mentioned  by  Lewis  and  Clarke  on 
uncertain  information,  cannot  well  exceed  three  thousand. 


The  Wakasli  or  Nootka  Sound  Indians  are  the  most  southern 
tribe  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  of  which  we  have  been 
able  to  give  a vocabulary.  With  the  exception  of  a few  words 
collected  in  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  and  of  some  of  the  Chinook 
language  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Columbia,  we  have  not  a 
single  one  along  the  coast,  till  we  come  to  the  Ellenes  and  the 
Ruslenes  of  the  Spanish  missions  of  New  California.  Mac- 
kenzie has  given  a short  one  of  an  inland  tribe,  the  Atnahs, 
who,  in  52°  30'  north  latitude,  are  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  Tacullies,  and  extend  thence  southwarldy  down  Frazer’s 
River  towards  the  Straits  of  Fuca.  It  is  also  a language  dis- 
tinct, so  far  as  we  are  now  informed,  from  any  other.  But  of 
all  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains between  the  forty-second  and  the  forty-ninth  degree  of 
north  latitude,  we  have,  besides  a few  Shoshonee  words  col- 
lected by  Dr.  Say,  no  other  vocabulary  but  that  of  the  Salish 
or  Flat  Heads,  which  belongs  to  Mr.  Duponceau’s  collection. 
This  is  a small  tribe,  computed  at  two  hundred  warriors,  waging 
an  unequal  war  with  the  Black  Feet,  and  residing  towards  the 
sources  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Columbia  River,  which 
must  be  either  the  most  southern  branch  of  Clarke’s  River,  or 
the  most  northern  branch  of  Lewis’s  River.  It  will  be  per- 
ceived that,  with  that  single  exception,  our  deficiency  embraces 
all  the  Indian  tribes  living  on  the  Columbia  River  and  all  its 
numerous  tributary  streams.  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Clarke  had 
brought  with  them  copious  vocabularies  of  all  the  Indian  tribes 
along  the  line  of  their  route.  These  had  been  placed  by  Mr. 
Jefferson  in  the  hands  of  the  late  Dr.  Benjamin  Smith  Barton 
for  arrangement  and  publication,  but  could  not  be  found  after 
his  death.  The  country  has  now  been  for  many  years  occupied 
by  the  British  traders  ; and  for  the  present  we  must  look  to 


SECT.  IV.]  BETWEEN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  THE  PACIFIC.  135 

that  quarter  for  information.  A long  list  of  the  tribes,  together 
with  an  estimate  of  their  numbers,  is  annexed  to  the  account 
of  Lewis  and  Clarke’s  expedition,  to  which  we  must  refer  the 
reader.  Captain  Lewis  was  of  opinion,  that  along  his  route 
there  were  three  distinct  families  of  languages  on  the  waters  of 
the  Columbia  River  ; that  of  the  mountains,  that  of  the  CoL 
umbia  plains,  and  that  of  the  seashore.  According  to  his 
estimate  of  the  population,  which  was  almost  entirely  derived 
from  Indian  accounts,  those  on  the  waters  of  Columbia 
River  amounted  to  eighty  thousand  souls.  A more  recent 
statement  reduces  the  number  to  five  thousand  six  hundred 
warriors.  It  is  probable  that  they  have  been  overrated  in  the  one, 
and  underrated  in  the  other  estimate.  Considering  the  nature 
of  the  country  and  the  means  of  subsistence  which  it  affords, 
it  is  probable  that  they  can  hardly  amount  to  fifty  thousand 
souls.  This  however,  as  well  as  any  estimate  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  Eskimaux,  of  the  Athapascas,  and  generally  of 
the  tribes  north  of  the  United  States,  can  only  be  founded  on 
conjecture.  That  of  the  Indians  within  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,'  is,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, as  correct  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit. 
With  this  observation  we  submit  the  following  recapitulation. 

Eskimaux,  Athapascas,  Atnahs,  and  tribes  on  the  Pacific 

as  far  south  as  Fuca’s  Straits 

Indians  of  Columbia  River,  and  the  seashore  of  Pacific 

from  42°  to  49°  north  latitude 

Algonkin-Lenape  ; in  British  dominions  20,000  ) 

“ “ in  United  States  40,000  j 

Iroquois  tribes ; in  British  dominions  . 1,000  ) 

“ “ in  United  States  . . 6,000  ( 

Choctaws  and  Chicasas 

Muskhogees  and  Seminoles 

Cherokees 

Uchees,  Natches,  small  Lousiana  tribes  .... 

Sioux,  including  Assiniboins  (7,000)  in  British  Dominions 
Pawnees  9,500 ; Panis  or  Towa-ash  1500 

Black  Feet  and  Rapid  Indians 

Chiennes 

Kaskaias,  Kiavvas,  Bald  Heads,  and  other  small  erratic  bands  3,000 


60,000 

50.000 

60.000 

7.000 

24.000 

26.000 

15.000 

4.000 

50.000 

11.000 
33,000 

2.000 


345,000 


136 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


SECTION  V. 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  Rocky  Mountains  are  the  great  line  of  demarcation,  in 
reference  both  to  climate  and  to  the  means  of  subsistence 
which  the  country  in  its  natural  state  affords  to  its  inhabitants. 
The  diffei'ence  between  the  climate  of  the  Atlantic  shores  of 
North  America  and  the  opposite  European  coast,  is  well  known. 
It  consists  less  in  that  of  the  summer  heat,  which,  though 
greater  on  the  American  than  on  the  European  side  of  that 
ocean,  does  not  vary  essentially  under  the  same  latitudes,  than 
in  the  intensity  of  the  cold  in  the  American  winters.  This  is  such 
as  to  make  a difference  equivalent  to  one  of  more  than  ten  degrees 
of  latitude.  Neither  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  nor  the  less 
elevated  transversal  chain  which  seems  to  extend  from  the  river 
Saguenay  to  the  sources  of  the  Saskachawin,  produce  any  sen- 
sible change  in  that  respect.  The  comparative  observations, 
made  at  several  military  posts,  show  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
excess  both  of  heat  and  cold  respectively  is  greater,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  adjacent  prairies,  than  on  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic.  * It  may  be  said  generally,  that,  with 
variations  arising  from  local  causes,  the  same  climate  prevails 
from  the  seacoast  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  But  the  country 
lying  west  of  that  chain,  and  more  particularly  that  portion 
which  lies  along  the  Pacific,  enjoys  a climate  similar  to  that  of 
Western  Europe. 

Since  it  is  also  ascertained,  that  the  climate  of  Pekin  is  the 
same  with  that  of  Philadelphia,  and  that  the  temperature  both 
in  summer  and  winter  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  north  of  the 
Torrid  Zone,  corresponds  generally  with  that  of  the  eastern 
coast  of  North  America,  under  the  same  latitudes,  it  appears 
certain  that  this  difference  of  climate  arises  from  the  respective 
exposure  of  the  seacoasts.  Those  which  face  the  west  enjoy 
a much  more  temperate  climate  than  those  which  have  an 
eastern  exposure.  In  order  to  account  for  such  a general  result, 
we  must  seek  for  an  equally  general  cause.  Apart  from  the 


* This  may  perhaps  be  accounted  for,  by  the  winds,  which,  whether 
from  the  south  or  from  the  north,  sweep  that  immense  valley,  without 
being  intercepted  by  any  sufficient  transversal  chain  of  mountains. 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


137 


variations  produced  by  a different  configuration  of  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  by  the  difference  in  the  general  course  of  the 
great  chains  of  mountains  in  the  two  hemispheres,'  the  most 
probable  general  cause  will  be  found  in  the  great  prevalence 
of  the  western  winds  throughout  the  Northern  Temperate 
Zone.  The  fact  is  fully  ascertained,  and  is  the  cause  of  a dif- 
ference amounting  to  about  one  third  in  the  length  of  the  pas- 
sages between  Europe  and  America.  Those  winds  reach  the 
western  coasts  of  both,  after  having  crossed  the  Atlantic  or  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  with  a temperature  corresponding  with  that 
of  the  sea.  The  same  winds,  on  the  eastern  coasts  of  Asia  and 
of  America,  are  land  winds,  and  bring  with  them,  especially  in 
winter,  when  they  come  from  the  northwest,  the  temperature 
of  the  country  where  they  originated. 

If  the  trade-winds  of  the  Torrid  produce  a counter-current  in 
the  atmosphere  of  the  Temperate  Zone,  the  rotatory  motion  of 
the  earth  and  the  effect  of  the  solar  heat  may  be  assigned  as  the 
primary  cause  of  the  difference  of  climate  to  which  we  allude. 
Whatever  that  cause  may  be,  there  cannot  be  any  expectation 
of  a permanent  change  in  that  respect.  It  is  not  indeed  per- 
ceived, how  cultivation  could  make  any  sensible  alteration  ; and 
it  is  ascertained  that  the  absence  of  trees  produces  none.* 
But  the  difference  between  the  forest  and  the  prairie  country 
had  a greater  influence  on  the  means  of  subsistence  and  the 
habits  of  the  Indians,  than  even  that  of  climate. 

The  whole  country,  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  was 
covered  with  a dense  and  uninterrupted  forest,  when  the 
European  settlers  landed  in  America.  South  of  the  fortieth 
degree  of  latitude,  it  extends  in  the  same  manner,  as  far  west 
as  the  Mississippi,  without  any  other  considerable  exception, 
than  a tract  called  “ the  Barrens,”  situated  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  river  of  that  name  in  the  State  of  Kentucky.  But,  between 
that  latitude  and  Lake  Erie,  some  intervals  of  land  destitute  of 
wood,  and  called  “ Prairies,”  begin  to  appear,  as  you  approach 
the  Scioto,  and  even  more  eastwardly  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Lake.  These  prairies  gradually  increase  in  size  and  in  num- 
ber as  you  proceed  westwardly,  and  are  nearly  equal  in  extent 
to  the  forest  land,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  of  Illinois 


* It  would  seem  that  the  climate  of  Rome  was  formerly  colder  in 
winter  than  now.  The  account  given  of  that  of  Paris  by  the  Emperor 
Julian  would  nearly  answer  for  the  present  time. 

VOL.  II.  18 


138 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


and  of  the  adjacent  country  on  the  north.  North  of  the  Lakes, 
the  forest  continues  uninterrupted,  at  least  in  their  vicinity,  as 
far  west  as  Lake  Winnipek.  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  the 
prairies  continue  to  encroach  rapidly  on  the  woodland,  until  at 
last  an  immense  plain,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  extends  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Arctic  Sea  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  leaving  only  narrow  strips  of  wooded  land 
along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  water-courses.  The  forest 
makes  again  its  appearance  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  the 
secondary  ridges,  and  in  the  intervening  valleys.  Beyond  the 
mountains  vast  prairies  are  again  found,  extending  as  far  west 
as  the  northern  continuation  of  the  Californian  chain  of  moun- 
tains, and  known  by  the  name  of  Columbia  Plains.  Their 
extent  to  the  north  is  not  known,  but  southwardly,  and  assuming 
a different  character,  they  reach  the  Gulf  of  California.  A 
great  portion  of  the  Mexican  dominions  is  equally  destitute 
of  trees.  The  tract  of  land,  contained  between  the  Pacific  and 
the  Californian  chain,  does  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  breadth,  and  is  well  timbered. 

But  there  is  a vast  difference,  in  the  means  of  subsistence 
they  afford  to  the  Indians,  between  the  Columbia  Plains  and 
the  Prairies  of  the  Missouri.  These  are  the  native  country  of 
the  bisons,  or  buffaloes,  as  they  are  universally  called  in 
America,  and  through  which  they  range,  from  the  fifty-fifth 
degree  of  latitude  to  the  sources  of  the  rivers  that  empty  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rio  Norte. 
The  buffaloes  constitute  the  principal  article  of  food  of  the 
erratic  tribes,  as  well  as  of  the  cultivating  Indians  whom  we 
have  designated  by  the  name  of  Missouris  ; and  their  undi- 
minished numbers  prove,  that  the  Indian  population  has  not 
quite  reached  the  extent,  of  which,  in  that  state  of  nature,  it 
was  susceptible.  The  Columbia  Plains,  on  the  contrary,  are  as 
destitute  of  game  as  of  trees.  The  buffalo  has  never  pene- 
trated there ; the  principal  and  cheapest  article  of  food  of  the 
European  and  American  traders  was,  at  least  till  very  lately, 
horse  flesh  ;*  and  dogs  were  a luxury.  The  Indians  who  did 

* The  horse  is  not  a native  of  America.  The  wild  herds  of  Texas 
are  entirely  of  Spanish  origin.  They  have  been  obtained  by  the  Indians 
either  directly  or  by  internal  exchanges  among  themselves,  and  ai-e 
now  abundant  in  a domesticated  state  on  both  sides  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, as  far  north  as  they  can  subsist  without  the  aid  of  food  supplied 
by  man. 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


139 


not  live  immediately  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  or  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  derived  their  means  of  subsistence  almost  exclusively 
from  the  salmon,  which  ascends  the  rivers  to  their  sources,  and 
from  various  species  of  native  roots,  some  of  which  are  very 
unwholesome.  They  cultivate  absolutely  nothing  : and  it  is 
therefore  evident  that  their  population  must  be  less,  in  propor- 
tion to  territory,  than  that  of  the  Indians  east  of  the  mountains. 

The  bisons  are  found,  in  the  Missouri  plains,  in  flocks  of 
several  thousands.  They  generally  migrate  in  winter  to  the 
country  south  of  the  Arkansa.  Many  however  find  during  that 
season,  even  in  high  latitudes,  an  asylum  in  the  valleys  of  the 
mountains,  or  wherever  a detached  tract  of  forest  land  is  to  be 
found.  Their  bulk,  shape,  and  habits  render  mountains  a formi- 
dable obstacle  to  their  progress.  Wherever  a buffalo  path  is 
found  in  a mountainous  or  hilly  country,  it  is  a sure  guide  for 
the  most  practicable  way  of  crossing  the  mountain.  It  was  such 
a path,  which,  for  a number  of  years,  became  the  main  route  across 
the  Cumberland  Mountains,  between  the  southwest  parts  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky.  In  the  same  manner  the  buffalo  has 
pointed  out  the  most  practicable  route,  across  the  ridge  which 
divides  the  sources  of  the  Yellow  Stone  and  the  river  Platte,  from 
that  of  Lewis’s  River,  a southern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  and 
from  those  of  the  Rio  Colorado  of  California.  They  have 
penetrated  down  the  last  river  as  far  south  as  the  fortieth  degree 
of  latitude,  and  down  Lewis’s  River  as  far  west  as  the  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteenth  degree  of  longitude.  Beyond  those  points 
they  have  been  arrested  in  both  directions  by  impassable  moun- 
tains. Toward  the  east  they  had  crossed  the  Mississippi,  and, 
before  they  were  driven  away  by  the  American  settlements,  they 
had  ascended  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  within  one  hundred  miles  of 
Pittsburgh,  and  that  of  the  Tennessee  to  its  sources.  They  were 
but  rarely  seen  south  of  the  ridge  which  separates  that  river 
from  the  sources  of  those  which  empty  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  nowhere,  in  the  forest  country,  in  herds  of  more  than 
from  fifty  to  two  hundred.  The  bison  is  but  a variety  of  the 
European  ox ; and  the  mixed  breed  will  again  propagate.*  He 

* As  doubts  have  lately  been  raised  upon  that  point,  I must  say  that 
the  mixed  breed  was  quite  common  fifty  years  ago,  in  some  of  the  north- 
western counties  of  Virginia ; and  that  the  cows,  the  issue  of  that  mixture, 
propagated  like  all  others.  No  attempt  that  I know  of  was  ever  made  by 
the  inhabitants  to  tame  a buffalo  of  full  growth.  But  calves  were  occa- 
sionally caught  by  the  dogs  and  brought  alive  into  the  settlements.  A 


140  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

is  very  intractable,  and  is  not  known  to  have  ever  been  domesti- 
cated by  the  Indians. 

Some  unforeseen  circumstances  have  prevented  General 
Ashley  of  Missouri,  from  communicating  to  me  in  time,  as  he 
intended,  some  further  information  respecting  the  country, 
which  he  explored  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  thence  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  beyond  Lake  Timpanogo.  But  he 
has  transmitted  to  me  a manuscript  map,  accompanied  with 
numerous  explanatory  notes,  the  materials  for  which  consist  of 
various  journeys  and  explorations  by  some  of  our  enterprising 
traders  and  hunters.  It  is  on  that  authority,  and  subject  to 
such  corrections,  as  more  complete  explorations  and  scientific 
observations  will  hereafter  render  necessary,  that  several  geo- 
graphical innovations  have  been  introduced  in  the  small  map 
annexed  to  this  Essay. 

It  will  he  seen  by  this,  that  the  sources  of  the  Multnomah  do 
not  reach  farther  south  than  the  forty-third  degree  of  latitude ; 
that  some  rivers,  which  had  been  believed  to  belong  to  it,  are 
southern  branches  of  Lewis’s  River  ; that  the  sources  of  the 
Rio  Colorado  of  California  are  as  far  north  as  almost  the  forty- 
third  degree  of  north  latitude,  whilst  those  of  the  Rio  Norte  do 
not  reach  the  thirty-ninth  degree  ; and  that  the  river  commonly 
called  Rio  Rojo,  that  heads  nearly  opposite  to  Taos  and  Santa 
Fe  on  the  Rio  Norte,  is  a branch,  not  of  the  Red  River  of  the 
Mississippi,  but  of  the  Canadian  fork  of  the  Arkansa.  The 
most  important  discoveries,  however,  relate  to  the  country  be- 
tween the  Rio  Colorado  of  California  and  the  Pacific  Ocean 
south  of  the  forty-second  degree  of  north  latitude. 

The  Lake  Timpanogo  has  been  found,  and  is  laid  down,  in 
the  same  latitude  and  longitude  nearly,  as  had  been  assigned 
to  it  by  Baron  Humboldt.  It  receives  two  rivers  from  the  east, 


bull  thus  raised  was  for  a number  of  years  owned  in  my  immediate 
vicinity  by  a farmer  living  on  the  Monongahela,  adjoining  Mason  and 
Dixon’s  line.  He  was  permitted  to  roam  at  large,  and  was  no  more  dan- 
gerous to  man  than  any  bull  of  the  common  species.  But  to  them  he 
was  formidable,  and  would  not  suffer  any  to  approach  within  two  or 
three  miles  of  his  own  range.  Most  of  the  cows  1 knew,  were  descended 
from  him.  For  want  of  a fresh  supply  of  the  wild  animal  they  have 
now  merged  into  the  common  kind.  They  were  no  favorites,  as  they 
yielded  less  milk.  The  superior  size  and  strength  of  the  buffalo  might 
have  improved  the  breed  of  oxen  for  draught ; but  this  was  not  at- 
tended to,  horses  being  almost  exclusively  employed  in  that  quarter  for 
agricultural  purposes. 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


141 


which  issue  from  the  mountains  west  of  the  Colorado,  is  known 
to  the  Americans  by  the  name  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  has  no 
outlet  whatever  towards  the  sea.  General  Ashley’s  own  ex- 
plorations extend  as  far  south  as  another  smaller  lake,  to  which 
his  name  has  been  given,  and  which  is  situated  about  eighty 
miles  south  of  the  southeastern  extremity  of  Lake  Timpanogo. 
It  is  also  fed  by  a river  coming  from  the  mountains  in  the 
southeast,  and  has  no  outlet.  The  discoveries  south  and  west 
of  that  place  appear  to  belong  to  others,  and  principally  to 
J.  S.  Smith.  Another  river  known  by  the  name  of  Last  River, 
coming-also  from  the  coast,  falls  into  another  lake,  also  without 
outlet,  situated  in  33°  north  latitude,  and  in  the  same  longitude 
as  Lake  Timpanogo. 

J.  S.  Smith  descended  the  Rio  Colorado  of  California,  in 
the  year  1826,  as  far  south  as  the  thirty-fifth  degree  of  north 
latitude.  Proceeding  thence  westwardly,  he  reached  the  Span- 
ish Missions  of  San  Pedro  and  San  Diego  near  the  Pacific. 
The  ensuing  year,  he  visited  Monterey  and  St.  Francisco  ; 
ascended  the  river  Buenaventura  some  distance,  and  recrossed 
the  Californian  chain  of  mountains,  called  there  Mount  Joseph, 
in  about  the  thirty-ninth  degree  of  latitude.  He  thence  pro- 
ceeded north  of  west,  and  reached  the  southwestern  extremity 
of  Lake  Timpanogo.  The  eastern  foot  of  the  Californian 
chain,  where  he  recrossed  it,  is  about  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  from  the  Pacific.  There  he  crossed  some  streams,  coming 
from  the  south,  which  may  either  he  lost  in  the  sands, 
or',  breaking  through  the  mountains,  north  of  Mount  Joseph, 
unite  with  the  river  Buenaventura.  The  course  of  this  last 
river,  so  far  as  it  is  known,  is  from  north  to  south,  between  and 
parallel  to  the  Californian  chain  and  the  Pacific. 

The  most  southern  branch  of  the  Owyhee,  a southern  tribu- 
tary stream  of  Lewis’s  River,  takes  its  source  not  far  west  from 
the  northern  extremity  of  Lake  Timpanogo,  and  in  its  most 
southerly  bend  passes,  in  the  forty-first  degree  of  latitude, 
through  an  extremely  mountainous  and  rocky  country.  The 
result  of  Mr.  Smith’s  journey  is,  that  the  whole  country  south 
of  that  river,  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Rio  Colorado  to  the  Cali- 
fornian mountains,  is  an  immense  sandy  plain,  in  which  a few 
detached  mountains  are  seen,  “ from  which  flow  small  streams 
that  are  soon  lost  in  the  sand.  A solitary  antelope  or  black- 
tailed deer  may  sometimes  be  seen.  A few  wild  Indians  are 
scattered  over  the  plain,  the  most  miserable  objects  in  creation.” 


142 


A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  IN1HAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


The  chain  of  mountains,  east  of  Lake  Timpanogo,  and  west 
of  the  Rio  Colorado,  continues  southwardly,  close  to  that  river, 
to  the  thirty-sixth  degree  of  latitude,  where  it  terminates.  The 
chain  which  divides  the  waters  of  the  Rio  Norte,  from  those  of 
the  Arkansa,  is  well  known,  and  is  an  easterly  branch  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  But  the  main  chain,  which  may  be  consid- 
ered as  a continuation  of  the  Mexican  Andes,  lies  between  the 
Colorado  and  the  Rio  Norte.  This  section  of  the  country  is 
known  to  us  only  through  the  reports  of  our  beaver-hunters 
(trappers),  who  have  not  penetrated  farther  south  than  the 
thirty-seventh  degree  of  latitude.  They  represent  the  country 
extending  thence  northwardly  to  the  sources  of  the  river  Platte, 
as  being  only  a body  of  mountains,  intersected  at  right  angles 
by  rivers  that  empty  into  the  Colorado.  The  only  section, 
which  has  not  at  all  been  explored  by  the  Americans,  is  that 
lying  east  of  the  Colorado  between  the  Rio  Gila  and  the  thirty- 
seventh  degree  of  north  latitude. 


The  uniformity  of  character  in  the  grammatical  forms  and 
structure  of  all  the  Indian  Languages  of  North  America,  which 
have  been  sufficiently  investigated,  indicates  a common  origin. 
The  numerous  distinct  languages,  if  we  attend  only  to  the 
vocabularies  between  which  every  trace  of  affinity  has  disap- 
peared, attest  the  antiquity  of  the  American  population.  This 
may  be  easily  accounted  for,  consistently  with  the  opinion  that 
the  first  inhabitants  came  from  Asia,  and  with  the  Mosaic 
chronology.  The  much  greater  facility  of  communication, 
either  across  Behring’s  Straits,  or  from  Kamschatka  or  Japan 
by  the  Aleutian  Islands,  would  alone,  if  sustained  by  a similarity 
of  the  physical  type  of  man,  render  the  opinion  of  an  Asiatic 
origin,  not  only  probable,  but  almost  certain.  The  rapidity  with 
which  the  human  species  may  be  propagated  under  favorable 
circumstances  removes  any  apparent  inconsistency  between  that 
opinion  and  the  early  epoch,  which  must  be  assigned  to  the 
first  appearance  of  man  in  America. 

Reasoning  a priori,  it  would  appear  that  the  population  of 
a country  may  be  doubled  in  the  short  period  of  fifteen  years, 
provided  it  finds  adequate  means  of  subsistence.  We  know 
with  certainty,  that  the  white  inhabitants  of  the  United  States 
continue  even  now  to  increase,  independent  of  migration,  at  the 
rate  of  near  thirty-three  and  a third  per  cent,  in  ten  years,  and 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


143 


that  their  number  is  therefore  doubled  within  less  than  twenty- 
three  years.  So  long  as  man,  compelled  to  seek,  or  voluntarily 
seeking  new  places  of  residence,  found  in  his  progress  no 
obstacle  from  more  ancient  inhabitants,  there  was  no  impedi- 
ment, that  could  either  arrest  his  march,  or  retard  the  natural 
increase  of  the  population.  We  know  this-  to  be  the  fact  with 
respect  to  an  agricultural  nation.  Hunting  tribes  would  meet 
with  no  greater  difficulty  in  finding  means  of  subsistence  ade- 
quate to  a similar  increase  in  their  numbers ; the  only  difference 
being  that,  wanting  more  space  for  that  purpose,  they  must  have 
moved  faster,  and  have  peopled  the  earth  in  their  own  wray,  in 
a shorter  time  than  agricultural  nations  would  have  done. 

Assuming  the  central  parts  of  Asia  to  have  been  the  cradle 
of  mankind,  and  since  three  couples  would,  in  thirty  periods  of 
duplication,  increase  to  more  than  six  thousand  millions  of  souls, 
we  may  fairly  infer,  not  only  the  possibility,  but  even  the  proba- 
bility, that  America  began  to  be  inhabited  only  five  or  six  hun- 
dred years  later  than  the  other  hemisphere.* 

Another  problem  perhaps  more  interesting,  and  the  solution 
of  which  is  not  less  difficult,  is  that  of  the  origin  of  the  semi- 
civilization which  .was  found  to  exist  in  certain  parts  of  America. 
With  respect  to  oUr  own  Indians,  the  only  difficulty  consists  in 
assigning  sufficient  reasons  for  their  having  remained  during  so 
many  centuries  in  the  state  of  comparative  inferiority  in  which 
we  found  them.  It  is  perhaps  partly  on  that  account,  that  the 
Europeans  were  astonished  to  find,  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  a great 
comparative  progress,  and  in  every  respect  a much  farther 
advanced  state  of  civilization.  Yet  it  is  but  lately,  that  any 
plausible  reasons  have  been  suggested,  in  support  of  the  opinion 
that  assigns  a foreign  origin  to  that  civilization.  The  proofs 
attempted  to  be  deduced  from  the  affinities  oflanguages,  appear 
insufficient.  In  comparing  the  vocabularies  of  twenty  distinct 
American,  with  those  of  as  many  Asiatic  languages,  accidental 
coincidences  will  necessarily  occur.  The  similarity  of  the  structure 
and  grammatical  forms  of  those  of  America  indicates  a common 
origin,  and  renders  it  probable  that  the  great  diversity  of  their 
vocabularies  took  place  in  America.  Should  that  have  been 

* These  observations  must  be  understood,  as  they  were  intended,  as 
only  showing  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  American  languages  and  the 
early  epoch  which  may  thence  be  deduced  of  the  American  population, 
inconsistent  with  the  opinion  of  an  Asiatic  origin  and  with,  the  received 
chronology. 


144 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


the  case,  it  can  hardly  be  hoped  that  any  one  American  will  be 
found  to  have  preserved  in  its  words  indisputable  affinities  with 
any  one  Asiatic  language.  An  investigation  of  the  grammatical 
character  of  the  Asiatic  languages,  with  which  we  are  as  yet  but 
imperfectly  acquainted,  may  perhaps  lead  to  a more  satisfactory 
result.*  Even  then,  the  questions  would  arise,  whether  a simi- 
larity in  that  respect  does  not  ascend  to  the  most  remote  anti- 
quity ; whether  the  first  emigrants  to  America  were  much 
superior  to  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  northeastern  parts  of 
Asia  ; how,  if  they  brought  with  them  a superior  degree  of 
civilization,  no  trace  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  those  northern  parts 
of  America,  which  they  must  have  inhabited  in  their  passage 
towards  a more  southern  region  ; and  why  the  civilization  which 
they  brought  with  them  was  ultimately  confined  to  certain 
favored  spots. 

We  may  indeed  suppose,  for  we  have  no  proof  of  the  fact, 
that  the  American  arts  and  institutions,  of  which  we  seek  the 
origin,  were  introduced  by  subsequent  migrations  from  the  other 
hemisphere,  which  took  place  long  after  America  had  been  first 
peopled,  and  when  European  and  Asiatic  nations  were  already 
far  advanced  in  civilization.  Without  denying  the  possibility  of 
such  an  origin  ; admitting,  as  is  proved  by  the  population  found 
in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  that  such  a migration  was  practi- 
cable;  it  is  equally  obvious  that  it  could,  at  any  one  time,  have 
consisted  of  but  few  individuals.  Any  number,  however  small, 
might  without  difficulty  have  occupied  uninhabited  islands. 
But  they  might  not  have  found  a very  friendly  reception  among 
the  American  savages ; and  the  influence  founded  only  on  the 
persuasion  of  a few  foreigners,  to  such  an  extent,  as  to  induce 
a barbarous  people  to  change  their  habits  and  social  state,  ap- 
pears to  me  less  probable,  than  a gradual  progress  towards  civ- 
ilization of  domestic  origin. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  a correspon- 
dence has  already  been  pointed  out,  between  the  style  of  arts, 
the  hieroglyphics,  the  calendar,  the  worship,  and  other  American 
institutions,  and  those  found  in  some  parts  of  the  other  continent. 
Alexander  Humboldt  has  thrown  great  additional  light  on  that,  as 

* The  ingenious  dissertation  of  an  enlightened  Mexican,  pointing  out 
affinities  between  the  Ottomy  or  Othomite,  and  the  Chinese  languages,  is 
not  quite  satisfactory.  The  principal  distinguishing  characters  of  the 
Indian  languages  are  found  in  the  verb  ; and  the  author  resorts  to  the 
supposition  that  the  Ottomies  borrowed  their  conjugations  from  the 
Mexicans. 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


145 


on  every  other  subject  which  he  has  discussed.  Much  remains 
to  be  done,  and  all  the  attainable  materials  have  not  yet 
been  collected.  All  that  remains  of  ancient  paintings,  hiero- 
glyphic or  descriptive,  should  be  collected  and  published ; fair 
and  correct  drawings  of  many  ancient  monuments  are  still 
wanted.*  The  works,  in  the  Indian  languages,  of  the  earliest 
writers  after  the  conquest  should  be  translated ; and  every  other 
proof  collected  of  the  authenticity  of  the  Mexican  and  Peruvian 
annals,  and  of  that  of  the  paintings,  or  other  means  of  transmit- 
ting the  knowledge  of  events,  on  which  they  are  founded. 
Should  subsequent  investigations  fail  of  adducing  satisfactory 
proofs  of  a connexion  between  the  civilization  of  America  and 
that  of  the  other  hemisphere,  the  progress  that  had  been  made 
in  America  has,  after  all,  nothing  so  wonderful  as  to  render  it 
absolutely  necessary  to  resort  to  the  supposition  of  a foreign 
importation.  On  the  probable  supposition,  that  the  whole  conti- 
nent of  America  was  inhabited  one  thousand  years  after  the 
flood,  or  near  four  thousand  years  ago,  the  faculties  of  man, 
gradually  unfolded  and  improved,  may,  in  the  course  of  so  long 
a period,  have  produced,  without  any  extraneous  aid,  that  more 
advanced  state  of  society  and  of  knowledge,  which  existed  in 
some  parts  of  America,  when  first  discovered  by  the  Europeans. 
Those  centres  of  American  civilization  were  all  found  precisely 
in  those  places,  where  we  might  have  expected  to  find  them,  if 
that  civilization  was  of  domestic  origin. 

Those  countries  where,  on  account  of  the  climate,  greater 
exertions  are  required  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  life,  may  be  those  which  ultimately  will  make  the 
greatest  progress  in  the  arts  and  in  the  acquirement  of  wealth 
and  knowledge  ; but  they  are  not  those  where  civilization  has 
been  found  generally  to  originate.  We  uniformly  trace  its 
commencement  and  first  progress  in  the  other  hemisphere,  in 
countries  equally  exempt  from  the  rigor  of  severe  winters,  and 
from  the  excessive  heat  of  the  Torrid  Zone.  In  America,  the 
corresponding  latitudes  are  subject  in  winter  to  cold  as  severe  as 
that  of  the  north  of  Germany  ; whilst,  in  the  Torrid  Zone,  exten- 
sive and  fruitful  districts  of  elevated  table  land  and  valleys  enjoy 
a climate  as  mild  and  favorable,  as  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates 


* Some  of  the  plates  of  Delrio’s  account  of  the  City  of  Stones  appear 
suspicious,  as  relates  to  the  style  of  architecture,  and  still  more  as  to  the 
correctness  with  which  the  human  figures  are  drawn. 

VOL.  II.  19 


146  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

and  of  the  Tigris.  And  it  is  accordingly  in  those  favored  spots, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Mexico,  of  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota,  of  Quito,  and 
of  Cusco,  that  were  found  those  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
nations,  those  extensive  empires  and  populous  cities,  with  regu- 
lar forms  of  worship  and  of  government,  which  excited  the 
wonder  and  inflamed  the  cupidity  of  the  European  invaders. 

Although  we  may  not  place  full  reliance  on  the  details  and 
the  dates  of  the  Mexican  annals,  it  is  indubitable  that  several 
nations,  some  of  them  speaking  different  languages,  have,  sub- 
sequent to  the  first  civilization  of  the  country,  successively 
occupied  the  various  provinces  of  the  Mexican  empire.  The 
ruins  of  Palenque  and  of  other  cities  are  monuments  of  those 
revolutions.  The  annals  and  traditions  ascend  no  higher  than 
the  Tolteques,  as  the  authors  of  the  first  civilization.  Whether 
the  merit  is  due  to  them,  or  to  some  more  ancient  and  unknown 
people,  it  may  be  asked,  whence  came  the  subsequent  succes- 
sive conquerors?  The  abodes  of  the  Azteques,  or  Mexicans 
proper,  may  probably  be  traced  as  far  north  as  the  Casas 
Grandas  of  the  Rio  Gila  ; but  from  what  quarter  had  they  come 
to  that  place  ? 

In  order  to  account  for  their  success,  it  must  necessarily  be 
admitted,  that  they  were  previously  an  agricultural  people  ; for 
the  pastoral  state  cannot  exist  where  there  are  no  domesticated 
animals  ; and  we  know  with  the  utmost  certainty,  that  no  purely 
hunting  nations  could  be  numerous  enough,  or  keep  together 
and  support  for  any  length  of  time  a force  sufficient  successfully 
to  invade,  or  make  any  serious  impression  on  a country,  such  as 
Mexico  is  represented  to  have  been,  and  in  fact  was  at  the  time  of 
the  invasion.  But  we  now  know  that,  north  of  the  latitude  of  the 
Rio  Gila,  there  is  nothing  west  of  the  Rio  Colorado  but  a sandy 
desert,  nothing  between  that  river  and  the  Rio  Norte  but  accumu- 
lated ridges  oi  mountains,  nothing  east  of  the  last  river  but  the 
buffalo  plains.  In  fact  we  find  in  no  part  of  the  country,  whether 
east  or  north,  adjacent  to  the  northern  civilized  provinces  of 
Mexico,  any  trace,  or  any  probability  of  the  former  existence, 
of  an  agricultural  people.  But  we  may  easily  understand,  that 
the  civilization  of  Mexico  gradually  extended  its  influence,  as 
from  a common  centre,  northwardly  as  well  as  southwardly ; 
that  the  northerly  tribes,  as  far  north  as  the  thirtieth  degree  of 
latitude,  and  perhaps  the  Rio  Gila,  without  having  made  the 
same  progress  in  arts,  or  attained  the  same  degree  of  wealth  as 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Mexico,  may  have  been  gradually 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL,  OBSERVATIONS. 


147 


converted  into  an  agricultural  people  ; and  that,  like  the  Ger- 
man nations  in  Europe,  they  may  ultimately  have  conquered 
their  less  warlike  southern  neighbours. 

The  next  and  more  immediate  subject  of  inquiry  is,  how  we 
shall  account  for  those  ancient  tumuli,  fortifications,  and  other 
remnants,  both  east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the  origin  of 
which  is  entirely  unknown  to  the  Indians,  who  in  the  seventeenth 
century  were  the  sole  inhabitants,  and  still  continue  to  occupy 
a part  of  that  country. 

On  this,  as  on  many  other  subjects  relative  to  our  Indians, 
we  are  still  in  want  of  facts.  We  are  not  yet  sufficiently 
acquainted  with  the  extent  of  the  country  over  which  those 
monuments  are  spread,  or  how  far  they  differ  in  character, 
extent,  or  number,  in  the  different  sections  of  the  country. 
They  only  appear  to  have  been  more  numerous  and  of  greater 
importance  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mississippi  and  in  the  valley 
of  the  Ohio.  There  is  nothing  in  their  construction,  or  in  the 
remnants  which  they  contain,  indicative  of  a much  more  ad- 
vanced state  of  civilization  than  that  of  the  present  inhabitants. 
But  it  may  be  inferred  from  their  number  and  size,  that  they 
were  the  work  of  a more  populous  nation  than  any  now  existing ; 
and  if  the  inference  is  correct,  it  would  necessarily  imply  a 
state  of  society,  in  which  greater  progress  had  been  made  in 
agriculture.  For  wherever  satisfactory  evidence  of  a greater 
population  is  found,  this  could  not  have  existed  without  ade- 
quate means  of  subsistence,  greater  than  can  be  supplied  by  the 
chase  alone. 

Those  monuments  seem  in  two  respects  to  differ  from  any 
erections  that  can  be  ascribed  to  the  Indians,  such  as  they  were 
found  by  the  first  F rench  or  English  settlers.  Some  are  of  a char- 
acter apparently  different  from  those  purely  intended  for  defence. 
It  may  be  doubted  whether  those  extensive  mounts,  so  regularly 
shaped  and  with  a rectangular  basis,  such  as  that  near  the  Mis- 
sissippi, on  which  the  refugee  monks  of  La  Trappe  had  built 
their  convent,  one  hundred  feet  in  height,  facing  the  four  cardi- 
nal points,  and  with  those  platforms  designated  by  the  name  of 
Apron,  are  entirely  the  work  of  man,  or  whether  they  may 
not  have  been  natural  hills,  artificially  shaped  by  his  hands. 
But  if  they  have  been  correctly  described,  they  have  a strong 
family  likeness  to  the  Mexican  pyramids,  as  they  are  called, 
and  were  probably  connected  with  the  worship  of  the  nation. 
Of  these,  for  there  appear  to  be  at  least  two  more,  and  of 


148 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


other  enclosures  or  works  which  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  a 
reference  to  military  purposes  only,  we  want  full  and  precise 
descriptions. 

But,  if  considered  only  as  fortifications,  ramparts  of  earth,  in 
a forest  country,  strike  us  as  a singular  mode  of  defence,  against 
savage  enemies  and  Indian  weapons.  All  the  defensive  works, 
without  exception,  that  were  used  by  the  Indians,  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  from  the  time  they  were  first  known  to  us,  were  of  a 
uniform  character.  The  descriptions  of  Mauville  at  the  time  of 
De  Soto’s  expedition,  and  of  Hochelaga  by  Cartier,  agree  entirely 
with  the  Indian  forts  within  our  own  knowledge,  with  that  of 
the  Five  Nations  in  the  siege  of  which  Champlain  was  engaged 
in  1615,  and  of  which  he  has  left  a correct  drawing,  and  with 
every  other  description  given  by  the  early  writers.  They  all 
consisted  of  wooden  palisades  strongly  secured,  with  an  internal 
gallery,  from  which  the  besieged  party  might  under  cover  repel 
the  assailants  with  missile  weapons.  And  they  were  also  of  a 
moderate  size,  and  such  as  could  be  defended  by  the  population 
of  an  Indian  village.  Wood  affords  the  natural  means  of  forti- 
fication against  a savage  enemy,  where  the  material  is  abundant. 
It  cannot  indeed  be  understood  how  these  works  could  have 
been  properly  defended,  unless  they  were  surrounded,  not  only 
by  the  rampart,  but  also  by  a palisade.  And  it  is  on  any  sup- 
position extremely  difficult  to  account  for  works  containing  five 
hundred  acres,  such  as  that  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  which 
was  correctly  measured  by  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

The  only  conjecture  I can  form,  and  it  is  but  a conjecture,  is, 
that  the  people  who  erected  those  works  came  from  the  west, 
and  that  it  was  during  their  residence  in  the  prairie  country, 
that  they  were  compelled  to  resort  to  that  species  of  defensive 
works.  They  may,  as  is  often  the  case,  have  persisted  in  the 
habit  when  there  was  no  longer  occasion  for  it.  From  the 
Colorado  or  the  Rio  Norte,  the  way  to  the  Mississippi  was  easy 
by  the  river  Platte  or  the  Arkansa.  The  conjecture  is  entitled 
to  consideration,  only  in  case  further  investigation  should  show 
a probable  connexion  between  the  monuments  of  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  with  those  of  Mexico.  The  extensive  tract  of 
alluvial  land  along  the  Mississippi  opposite  St.  Louis,  now 
called  the  American  Bottom,  is  the  place  in  which  are  found 
the  strongest  indication  of  a concentrated  population. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  refute  the  opinion  of  those  who 
would  ascribe  these  works  to  European  emigrants.  There  is 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


149 


nothing  in  them,  which  may  not  have  been  performed  by  a 
savage  people.  The  Scandinavian  colony  of  Yinland  (New- 
foundland) is  out  of  the  question.  The  Norwegians  might 
indeed  have  penetrated  through  the  Straits  of  Bellisle  to  the  St. 
Lawrence.  But,  if  not  destroyed  by  the  savages,  a considera- 
ble time  must  have  elapsed,  before  they  could  in  their  subse- 
quent progress,  have  reached  the  Mississippi,  and  ascended  its 
western  tributaries.  The  well  ascertained  age  of  trees,  growing 
on  those  ramparts  in  the  lower  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Ohio, 
proves,  that  some  of  those  works  were  erected  before  the  thir- 
teenth century  ; and  we  know,  that  the  insignificant  colony  of 
Vinland  had  not  left  its  original  seats  in  the  year  1120.  Igno- 
rant as  we  are  and  shall  ever  remain  of  the  internal  revolutions, 
which  may  have  formerly  taken  place  amongst  the  uncivilized 
tribes  of  North  America,  it  is  not  probable  that  we  can  ever 
know  by  whom  the  works  in  question  were  erected.  Should  it 
appear,  from  a review  of  all  the  facts,  that  they  must  be 
ascribed  to  a populous  and  agricultural  nation,  we  must,  I think, 
conclude  that  this  was  destroyed  by  a more  barbarous  people.  It 
appears  at  least  extremely  improbable,  that,  independently  of 
external  causes,  or  of  some  great  catastrophe,  a people  once 
become  agricultural  should  take  such  a retrograde  step,  as  to 
degenerate  again  into  the  hunting  or  savage  state. 

All  the  Indians  of  North  America,  north  of  the  civilized 
districts  of  the  Mexican  empire,*  may  be  arranged  in  two 
classes  ; those  who  cultivated  the  soil,  and  those  who  derived 
their  subsistence  exclusively  from  the  natural  products  of  the 
earth  and  the  sea.  The  territory,  over  which  cultivation  had 
extended,  is  that  which  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Atlantic, 
on  the  south  by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  on  the  west  generally  by 
the  Mississippi  or  perhaps  more  properly  by  the  prairies,  on 
the  north,  it  may  be  said,  by  the  nature  of  the  climate.  The 
northern  boundary  of  cultivation  was,  near  the  Atlantic,  that 
which  divided  the  Abenakis  from  the  Etchemins,  including 
certainly  the  river  Kennebec,  and  probably  the  Penobscot. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Hurons  and  other  kindred  tribes  on 
the  northern  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  there  was  no  cultivation 

* These  do  not  now  extend  so  far  north  as  the  thirtieth  degree  of 
north  latitude,  unless  an  exception  be  found  in  the  long  and  narrow  valley 
of  the  Rio  Norte  called  New  Mexico.  I do  not  know  whether  the 
Indians  there  cultivated  the  soil  before  the  Spanish  conquest,  or  whether 
they  have  been  compelled  to  do  it.  The  subject  deserves  investigation. 


150 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


north  of  the  great  Lakes ; nor  does  there  appear  to  have  been 
any  amongst  the  Chippeways,  who  occupied  the  country  along 
the  southern  banks  of  Lake  Superior.  They  and  the  Menomonies 
depended  for  vegetable  food,  principally  if  not  altogether  on 
the  wild  rice,  or  wild  oats,  as  the  plant  is  called.  The  few 
tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  which  attend  at  all  to  agriculture 
have  already  been  designated,  as  well  as  those,  which,  extend- 
ing thence  to  the  Pacific,  derive  their  principal  means  of  sub- 
sistence, either  from  the  buffalo,  or  from  roots  and  fish.  Nor 
were  the  inhospitable  regions  of  the  north  destitute  of  those 
means.  Innumerable  lakes  cover  perhaps  one  third  of  the 
inland  country,  and  would  afford  an  abundant  supply  of  food  to 
an  industrious  and  provident  population.  The  musk  ox  and 
the  American  rein-deer  are  found  under  those  latitudes,  where 
the  buffalo  and  the  common  deer  cannot  exist.  Even  along 
the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  of  its  numerous  bays,  the 
Eskimaux  appear  to  be  as  well  provided  as  the  more  southern 
Indians.  Immense  quantities  of  salmon  are  caught  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  are  easily  preserved  till  the  ensuing  year.  The  seal, 
which  is  taken  even  during  the  winter,  supplies  the  Eskimaux 
with  food,  fuel,  light,  and  clothing.  And  even,  where  there  are 
neither  trees  nor  drift  wood,  and  where  subterraneous  abodes 
are  not  resorted  to,  or  cannot  be  excavated,  the  ice  itself 
affords  materials  for  winter  dwellings,  as  comfortable  and  as 
quickly  constructed,  as  the  leather  lodges  or  the  bark  huts  of 
the  erratic  tribes. 

It  is  obvious,  that  the  population  of  nations  which,  for  their 
subsistence,  depend  exclusively  on  natural  products,  is  neces- 
sarily limited  by  the  quantity  naturally  produced.  A nation  of 
hunters,  living  exclusively  on  game,  cannot  increase  the  quan- 
tity which  a given  extent  of  territory  can  sustain.  All  they 
can,  at  most,  effect  for  that  purpose  is  the  destruction  of  car- 
nivorous animals.  If,  at  any  time,  their  population  should  be  so 
increased,  as  to  require  a greater  consumption  of  food,  than 
is  afforded  by  the  natural  production  of  game,  this  wmuld  be 
checked,  and  the  population  would  soon  be  diminished  till  the 
equilibrium  was  again  restored  In  order  to  keep  up  their 
numbers,  the  Indians  must  resist  any  encroachment  on  their 
hunting-grounds.  They  must  fight  in  their  defence,  against 
invaders,  as  for  existence.  On  the  other  hand,  the  great  extent 
of  ground  necessary  to  sustain  game,  sufficient  for  the  subsist- 
ence of  a very  moderate  population,  compels  them  to  separate 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


151 


and  to  form  a number  of  small  independent  communities.  It 
may  easily  be  perceived  that  the  perpetual  state  of  warfare,  in 
which  neighbouring;  tribes  are  engaged,  had  its  origin  in  the 
same  cause  which  has  produced  the  great  diversity  of  Ameri- 
can languages  or  dialects.  We  may  also  understand,  how  the 
affections  of  the  Indian  became  so  exclusively  concentrated  in 
his  own  tribe,  the  intensity  of  that  natural  feeling,  how  it 
degenerated  into  deadly  hatred  of  hostile  nations,  and  the  ex- 
cesses of  more  than  savage  ferocity  in  which  he  indulged  under 
the  influence  of  his  unrestrained  vindictive  passions. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  population  of  those  hunting 
nations  does  not  appear  to  have  ever  reached  the  maximum  of 
which  it  was  susceptible.  We  have  the  proof  of  this,  in  the 
undiminished  numbers  of  the  buffalo  in  the  prairies,  and  even 
of  the  deer  in  the  north,  and  in  the  facility,  with  which  the 
numerous  servants  of  the  European  and  American  trading  com- 
panies derive  their  means  of  subsistence  in  those  districts  from 
the  natural  resources  of  the  country,  from  the  chase  or  from  the 
product  of  the  lakes.  The  only  species  of  animals,  which 
have  decreased,  are  those  which  supply  furs  and  skins,  for 
which  commerce  has  created  an  extraordinary  demand.  The 
intestine  wars  of  the  Indians  may  have  checked  the  increase  of 
population  ; but  this  is  not  the  only  cause,  and  we  may  find 
another  in  their  inveterate  indolence,  united,  as  it  is,  with  that 
habitual  improvidence,  occasionally  attended  with  the  greatest 
privations  and  even  with  famine. 

War  and  the  chase  are  the  only  pursuits  which  the  men  do 
not  think  beneath  their  dignity.  This  is  the  uniform  char- 
acteristic of  all  our  Indian  nations.  When  not  thus  engaged, 
they  sink  into  a state  of  mental  apathy  and  physical  indolence, 
from  which  strong  stimulants  alone  can  rouse  them  ; and  to  this 
cause  may  be  traced  their  excessive  passion  for  gambling  and 
for  ardent  spirits.  Women  are  everywhere  slaves  and  beasts  of 
burden.  Independent  of  that  portion  which  naturally  falls  to 
their  share,  the  cares  of  maternity  and  of  the  household,  every 
other  species  of  labor  falls  upon  them.  And  this  alone  has 
prevented  the  beneficial  effects  which  would  otherwise  have 
flowed  from  the  introduction  of  agriculture. 

It  has  already  been  seen,  that  cultivation  is  exclusively  con- 
fined to  that  portion  of  the  country,  clothed  with  forests,  which, 
between  the  Lakes  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  extends  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi,  and  hardly  beyond  it.  This  terri- 


152 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


tory,  and  Chili,  in  South  America,  might,  in  some  respects,  be 
considered  as  centres  of  an  incipient  civilization.  But  the 
Araucanians  appear  to. have  ceased  to  be  hunters,  and  to  have 
derived  their  subsistence  exclusively  from  agriculture.  Their 
long  and  successful  resistance  against  the  Spanish  invaders 
proves  them  to  have  been  a numerous  and  united  people ; they 
were  not,  like  the  Peruvians  and  Mexicans,  under  the  yoke  of 
a civil  or  religious  despotism;  and,  although  they  had  not  made 
the  same  progress  in  arts  or  knowledge,  they  may  perhaps  be 
considered  as  the  most  favorable  specimen  of  the  American  race. 
The  social  state  of  the  semi-agricultural  nations  of  North  America 

O 

presents  a very  different  picture. 

Cultivation  amongst  them  appears  to  have  been  confined  to 
the  maize,  some  species  of  beans  ( 'phaseolus •),  and  pumpkins 
( cucurbit  a ),  and  in  some  quarters  the  sweet  potato  ( convolvu- 
lus),  the  watermelon,  and  tobacco  ; all  which  plants  were  also 
cultivated  in  Peru.*  Maize,  which  constituted  the  most  impor- 
tant article,  is  decidedly  of  southern  origin  ; but  whether  the 
cultivation  first  took  place  on  the  continent,  or  in  the  West 
India  islands,  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  would  seem  more 
probable  that  it  originated  in  the  favored  elevated  plains  of  the 
Torrid  Zone,  and  that,  in  its  gradual  progress,  it  was  introduced 
from  the  neighbouring  islands  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  into  the 
country  which  lies  along  its  northern  shores.  Its  extension 
northwardly  would  be  a natural  process,  and  may  have  been 
favored  by  the  greater  difficulty  of  obtaining  food  where  there 
is  no  fish,  and  the  game,  consisting  principally  of  deer,  is  com- 
paratively less  abundant,  and  obtained  with  greater  labor,  than  in 
the  prairies.  But  the  introduction  of  agriculture  produced  little 
alteration  in  the  habits  or  manners  of  the  men.  They  continued 
to  be  still  hunters,  and  being  too  indolent  to  attend  to  the  daily 
and  tame  labors  of  agriculture,  these  were  again  thrown  upon 
the  women. 

Apart  from  the  pernicious  influence  of  that  state  of  society 
on  the  moral  feeling  and  conduct  of  both  sexes,  we  will  here 
observe,  that,  although  agriculture  did  to  a certain  extent 
increase  the  population,  yet,  left  to  women  alone,  its  effect  was 
very  limited.  In  order  that  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  may  pro- 


* Some  species  of  corn,  chestnuts  and  other  nuts,  as  also  some  roots, 
were  natural  products,  which  made  some  addition  to  their  nutritious 
vegetable  food. 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


153 


mote  that  increase  of  mankind,  which  is  limited  only  by  the 
quantity  ofland  fit  for  cultivation,  it  is  necessary  that  the  annual 
agricultural  labor  should  produce  a quantity  of  food,  at  least 
equal  to  the  annual  consumption  of  the  whole  existing  popula- 
tion. The  labor  of  women  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  produce 
that  result.  A portion  of  their  time  is  necessarily  employed  in 
the  other  domestic  occupations  which  must  always  fall  to  their 
share ; and  the  residue  is  unequal  to  the  task  of  raising  food 
adequate  to  the  whole  consumption  of  the  nation.  The  pro- 
portion may  vary,  according  to  soil,  climate,  and  the  greater  or 
less  degree  of  assistance,  which,  amongst  some  tribes,  they 
occasionally  receive  from  the  men.  But  it  fell  short  every- 
where of  that  which  was  required  ; and  the  result  was,  that,  after 
producing  an  increase  of  population  proportionate  to  the  addi- 
tional supply,  that  increase  was  again  ultimately  limited  by  the 
quantity  of  game  which  the  territory  afforded. 

Supposing,  for  instance,  that  a territory  containing  ten  thou- 
sand square  miles  supplied  game  enough  to  sustain  a population 
of  five  thousand  souls,  and  that  the  labor  of  women  afforded  a 
supply  equal  to  three  fourths  of  the  subsistence  of  the  whole 
population,  a most  favorable  supposition,  its  total  amount  could 
never  have  exceeded  twenty  thousand,  or  four  times  the  num- 
ber which  could  be  supported  by  the  game  alone.  For,  if  we 
suppose  the  number  to  have  been  for  a time  raised  to  twenty- 
four  thousand,  since  the  agricultural  labor  of  the  women  could 
only  support  eighteen  thousand  or  three  fourths  of  the  whole, 
and  the  game  still  five  thousand,  one  thousand  must  have  been 
left  without  food. 

The  first  European  settlers  were  not,  like  Cortez,  Pizarro, 
and  his  worthy  comrade  De  Soto,  reckless  invaders,  who, 
actuated  by  the  thirst  of  gold,  laid  waste  the  country  with  fire 
and  sword,  and  claimed  as  of  right  the  sovereignty  of  the  land 
and  the  servitude  of  the  natives.  The  Puritans  of  New  Eng- 
land, William  Penn,  Oglethorpe,  and  Lady  Huntingdon  were 
all  conscientious  people ; and,  though  Locke’s  plan  of  govern- 
ment was  a failure,  those  who  on  that  occasion  consulted  that 
great  benefactor  of  mankind,  the  most  powerful  advocate  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  must  have  been  men  of  liberal  minds. 
Yet  it  does  not  appear,  that,  in  forming  their  plans,  any  of  them 
was  at  all  arrested  by  considerations  arising  from  the  rights  of 
the  natives  to  the  soil.  The  emigrants  all  arrived,  without  any 
previous  steps  having  been  taken  in  reference  to  the  Indians. 

vol.  ii.  20 


154  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

It  seems  to  have  been  a general  opinion,  that  they  had  certainly 
much  more  land  than  they  wanted  ; that  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  a sufficient  quantity  from  them,  since  there 
was  enough  for  both  parties  ; that  their  situation  would  be  greatly 
improved  by  the  blessings  of  Christianity  and  a participation  in 
the  arts  and  superior  knowledge  of  the  Europeans  ; and  that 
both  races  would  subsist  and  flourish  together.  Those  expec- 
tations were  fulfilled  in  every  respect  but  that  in  which  the 
Indians  were  most  immediately  concerned.  The  fact  was,  that 
the  Indians,  so  long  as  they  preserved  their  habits,  had  but  little 
if  any  more  land  than  they  actually  wanted.  And,  to  this  day, 
they  have  almost  universally  proved  refractory  to  every  attempt 
made  to  induce  them  to  change  these  habits.  The  Indian 
disappears  before  the  white  man,  simply  because  he  will  not 
work.  The  struggle  was  between  inveterate  indolence  and  the 
most  active  and  energetic  industry ; and  the  result  could  not  be 
doubtful.  The  Indian  at  first  thoughtlessly  sold  his  land  for  a 
trifle  ; he  then  vainly  fought  in  order  to  recover  or  to  preserve  it ; 
he  finally  was  compelled  to  seek  a retreat  farther  to  the  west : 
and  the  few  who  remained  behind,  though  protected  by  govern- 
ment, and  with  reserved  lands  sufficient,  as  we  might  think,  for 
their  sustenance,  still  persevering  in  their  indolent  habits,  sank 
into  a most  degenerate  race,  and  have  almost  altogether  disap- 
peared. 

The  four  millions  of  industrious  inhabitants,  who,  within  less 
than  forty  years,  have  peopled  our  western  States,  and  derive 
more  than  ample  means  of  subsistence  from  the  soil,  offer  the 
most  striking  contrast,  when  compared  with  perhaps  one  hun- 
dred thousand  Indians  whose  place  they  occupy.  Not  only 
was  the  hunter  unable  to  procure  food  for  an  increased  popula- 
tion, but  he  had  generally  to  provide  daily  for  the  wants  of  the 
day,  and  never  could  accumulate  the  product  of  his  labor  in  the 
shape  of  capital.  An  agricultural  people,  even  though  as  little 
advanced  in  that  respect  as  our  western  settlers  are  at  first, 
have  always,  from  the  moment  they  have  prepared  a field  suffi- 
cient for  the  food  of  the  family,  a capital  either  in  their  barns 
or  growing,  equal  to  the  product  of  one  year’s  labor.  Within 
two  years,  more  corn  is  produced  than  is  wanted  for  their  own 
support.  The  surplus  affords  means  of  subsistence  to  new 
emigrants ; it  is  either  sold  to  those  who  have  some  prop- 
erty ; or  advanced  in  the  shape  of  wages  to  those  who  bring 
nothing  with  them  but  their  labor.  This  simple  process, 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


155 


renewed  every  year  in  a fast  increasing  ratio,  and  carried  on 
with  unexampled  activity  and  energy,  has  produced  those 
results  unparalleled  in  the  known  history  of  nations.  There 
was  nothing  to  prevent  the  Indian  from  reaching  the  same 
state  of  agriculture  and  population,  but  his  own  indolence. 

It  may  be  admitted  that  the  intercourse  with  the  whites  has 
enlarged  the  sphere  of  ideas  of  the  Indians  and  of  late  softened 
their  manners.*  Without  examining  whether,  even  with  those 
who  have  preserved  their  lands,  those  advantages  have  not 
been  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  introduction  of  new 
vices  and  new  evils,  it  may  be  asserted,  that  the  general  ten- 
dency of  that  intercourse  has  rather  been  to  perpetuate  than  to 
change  their  habits.  The  furs  and  skins  of  wild  animals  were 
the  only  articles  they  could  offer  in  exchange  of  European 
commodities  ; and  commerce,  which  by  increasing  their  wants 
might  be  considered  as  beneficial  to  them,  has  thus  stimulated 
them  to  apply  still  more  exclusively  their  time  and  faculties  to 
the  chase.  Even  the  benevolent  intentions  of  the  government 
of  the  United  States  have  not  always  taken  the  most  proper 
direction.  The  larger  compensation  allowed  for  their  lands, 
and  the  annuities  bestowed  upon  them,  have  promoted  the  habit 
of  being  supported  otherwise  than  by  labor.  It  is  not  by  treat- 
ing them  as  paupers,  that  a favorable  change  can  be  expected. 

So  long  as  the  Indians  were  formidable,  their  mode  of  war- 
fare and  their  excessive  cruelty  and  ferocity  made  them  objects 
of  execration.  The  feeling  has  been  universal,  and  is  exhibit- 
ed in  as  strong  colors  in  the  contemporaneous  accounts  |'of 
New  England,  as  it  may  have  since  appeared  on  our  western 
frontiers.  That  state  of  things  is  at  an  end  ; the  natives  have 
ceased  to  be  an  object  of  terror,  and  they  are  entirely  at  our 
mercy.  We  may  indeed  say,  that,  if  a scrupulous  regard  had 
always  been  paid  to  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  this  nation  would 
not  have  sprung  into  existence.  The  fact  is  not  less  true,  that 
it  has  been  created  at  their  expense  ; and  the  duty  is  imposed 
upon  us  to  exhaust  every  practicable  means  to  prevent  the 
annihilation  of  those  who  remain,  and  to  promote  their  happi- 
ness. Though  their  intellectual  faculties  were  palsied  and 


* The  cessation  of  internal  wars  amongst  the  Indians  has  been  suc- 
cessfully promoted  by  the  government  of  the  United  States.  There 
may  have  been,  but  I have  not  heard  of  any  instance  of  a prisoner  being 
tortured,  burnt  by  a slow  fire,  &c., during  the  last  forty  years. 


156 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


their  moral  feelings  debased,  this  was  the  result  of  the  circum- 
stances under  which  they  were  placed.  I cannot  persuade 
myself,  that  they  were  doomed  to  a transitory  existence,  cor- 
responding with  that  of  the  flocks  of  deer  and  buffalo  on  which 
they  fed.  Their  natural  affections,  though  exclusive  and  im- 
properly directed,  were  not  extinguished,  and  were  still  displayed 
within  their  own  tribes,  and  often  towards  strangers.  They 
have  exhibited  repeated  proofs  of  intellectual  powers  appa- 
rently very  superior  to  those  of  the  African,  and  not  very 
inferior  to  those  of  the  European  race.*  If  a correct  view  has 
been  taken  of  the  great  obstacle  to  be  surmounted,  that  of  con- 
verting a purely  hunting  into  an  agricultural  nation,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  to  be  one  of  tbe  most  difficult  undertakings 
within  the  power  of  man. 

We  read  in  the  legends  of  those  nations  which  had  preserved 
a recollection  of  a previous  barbarous  state,  that  they  were 
taught  agriculture  by  a Triptolemus,  or  a Manco  Capac.  It 
is  much  to  be  apprehended,  that  necessity  and  compulsion  were 
the  deities  that  made  men  submit  to  the  fatigue  of  agricultural 
labor.  The  annals  of  every  nation,  of  which  we  have  any 
ancient  and  authentic  records,  exhibit  to  us  a state  of  society,  of 
which  slavery  constituted  a component  and  important  part. 
Such  was  the  case  with  the  Romans,  with  the  Greeks,  and 
with  the  eastern  nations,  without  excepting  the  Jews.  It 
seems  as  if,  after  man  had  departed  from  the  first  ordinances 
given  to  him,  conquest  and  slavery  had  become  necessary 
ingredients  in  order  to  bring  him  within  the  pale  of  civilization. 
It  may  be,  that  it  was  on  that  account  that  slavery,  or,  upon  the 
most  favorable  construction,  a servitude  of  fifty  years,  was 
expressly  allowed  by  the  laws  of  Moses,  and  that  it  is  not 
expressly  forbidden  by  the  Gospel.  The  great  and  fundamental 
moral  principles  of  Christianity  were  left  to  produce  their  effect 
on  man,  according  to  his  conscience  and  knowledge,  by  a 
religion,  intended  for  all  times  and  for  all  men  without  regard  to 


* Father  Le  Jeune,  answering  in  one  of  his  letters  the  objections 
made  to  the  prospect  of  converting  and  civilizing  the  Indians,  says,  that 
it  was  admitted  on  all  hands,  that  they  were  superior  in  intellect  to  the 
French  peasantry  of  that  time.  It  is  curious  enough  to  see  him  at  the 
same  time  advising  that  laborers  should  be  sent  from  France  in  order 
to  work  for  the  Indians.  The  same  sentiment  is  expressed  in  a letter 
written  in  the  Indian  language  by  an  Algonkin,  who  had  visited 
France. 


SECT.  V.]  GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS.  157 

their  political  or  social  state,  and  which  disclaims  any  inter- 
ference or  alliance  with  the  powers  that  may  regulate  the 
machinery  of  human  affairs. 

Had  the  Five  Nations,  or  any  other  conquering  Indian  tribe, 
instead  of  murdering  or  adopting  prisoners  of  war,  reduced  them 
to  a state  of  slavery  and  made  them  their  helots,  they  might 
have  attained  a Spartan  civilization.  That  of  Peru  and  Mex- 
ico was  avowedly  the  result  of  conquests,  and,  in  both  cases, 
had  for  its  foundation  the  abject  servitude  or  submission  of  the 
many,  the  military  power  of  the  conquerors,  and  the  yoke 
imposed  by  a false  religion. 

The  only  well  ascertained  instance,  amongst  our  own  Indians, 
of  their  having,  at  least  in  part,  become  an  agricultural  nation, 
meaning  thereby  that  state  of  society,  in  which  the  men  them- 
selves do  actually  perform  agricultural  labor,  is  that  of  the 
Cherokees.  And  i.t  is  in  proof,  that,  in  this  case  also,  cultiva- 
tion was  at  first  introduced  through  the  means  of  slavery.  In 
their  predatory  incursions  they  carried  away  slaves  from  Caro- 
lina. These  were  used  to  work,  and  continued  to  he  thus 
employed  by  their  new  masters.  The  advantages  derived  by 
the  owners  were  immediately  perceived.  Either  in  war,  or  in 
commercial  intercourse,  slaves  of  the  African  race  became 
objects  of  desire  ; and  gradually,  assisted  by  the  efforts  of  the 
government  and  the  beneficial  influence  of  the  missionaries,  some 
amongst  those  Indians,  who  could  not  obtain  slaves,  were 
induced  to  work  for  themselves.  Accounts  vary  as  to  the 
extent  of  that  true  civilization.  It  is  believed  that  it  embraces 
nearly  one  third  of  the  male  population  ; and  the  following 
statement  of  an  actual  census  of  that  part  of  the  nation  which 
remained  on  this  side  of  the  Mississippi,  taken  in  the  year  1825, 
corroborates  this- opinion. 

Free  males  . 6883;  do.  females  . 6900;  total  13,783 

Slaves,  male  . . 610;  do.  female  . . 667;  total  1,277 

15,060 

White  men  married  to  Cherokee  women  . 147 

Cherokee  men  married  to  white  women  . . 68 

33  grist  mills;  13  saw  mills  ; 1 powder  mill. 

69  blacksmith  shops;  2 tan  yards. 

762  looms  ; 2486  spinning  wheels. 

172  wagons  ; 2923  ploughs. 

7683  horses;  22,531  black  cattle;  46,732  swine;  2566  sheep. 


158  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

The  number  of  ploughs,  compared  with  that  of  male  slaves, 
shows  clearly  that  no  inconsiderable  number  of  male  Indians 
must  have  been  employed  in  agriculture. 

The  purchase  of  slaves  to  be  given  to  the  Indians  in  order  to 
enable  them  to  live  without  labor,  or  the  use  of  compulsory 
means  to  oblige  them  to  work  themselves,  are  inadmissible. 
Example  and  persuasion  can  alone  be  resorted  to.  And, 
although  these  have  so  often  failed,  the  instance  of  the  Chero- 
kees  shows  that  the  case  is  not  hopeless.  It  is  hoped  that 
government,  in  carrying  into  effect  its  laudable  intention  of 
providing  a permanent  place  of  refuge  for  the  Indians,  will  give 
to  its  operations  the  direction  best  calculated  to  produce  that 
favorable  result.  But  I think  that  it  is  principally  on  the  efforts 
of  the  missionaries,  that  we  must  rely  for  effecting  the  object. 

The  Indians  do  not  and  cannot  love  us ; and,  seeing  the  little 
regard  paid  to  engagements,  which  they  at  ]east  had  considered 
as  binding  on  both  parties,  they  look  on  all  the  acts  of  govern- 
ment with  a jealous  eye.  Those  ministers  of  the  Gospel  who 
with  equal  zeal,  disinterestedness,  and  singleness  of  purpose, 
have  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Indians,  have 
deserved  and  alone  have  acquired  their  confidence.  They  may 
succeed  in  converting  to  Christianity  the  present  generation; 
but  this  alone  will  not  prevent  the  speedy  annihilation  of  the 
Indian  race,  which  is  inevitable,  unless,  forsaking  their  habits, 
the  Indians  shall  become  an  industrious  people.  There  can  be 
no  hesitation  in  asserting,  that  the  labor  necessary  to  support  a 
man’s  family  is,  on  the  part  of  the  man,  a moral  duty ; and  that  to 
impose  on  woman  that  portion,  which  can  be  properly  perform- 
ed only  by  man,  is  a deviation  from  the  laws  of  nature.  I 
leave  it  to  those,  who  have  undertaken  the  task  of  instructing 
mankind  in  their  religious  duties,  to  decide,  how  far  the  obliga- 
tion to  labor  may  be  enforced  by  the  religious  sanction.  For 
all  temporal  purposes,  a day  of  rest  in  the  week  is  unnecessary 
for  those  who  are  idle  the  greater  part  of  their  time.  And  it  is 
believed,  that  no  nation,  or  individual,  can  transgress  with  im- 
punity that  first  decree  which,  allotting  to  each  sex  its  proper 
share,  declared  labor  to  be  the  condition,  on  which  man  was 
permitted  to  exist. 

Let  not  the  Indians  entertain  the  illusory  hope,  that  they  can 
persist  in  their  habits,  and  remain  in  perpetuity  quiet  posses- 
sors of  the  extensive  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  lately 
given  to  them  in  exchange  for  their  ancient  seats.  The  same 


SECT.  V.] 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


159 


causes  will  ultimately  produce  the  same  effects.  A nation  of 
hunters  cannot  exist,  as  such,  when  brought  in  contact  with  an 
agricultural  and  industrious  people.  They  must  be  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  conviction  that  their  ultimate  fate  depends 
exclusively  on  themselves. 

The  obstacles  to  be  surmounted,  before  deep-rooted  habits 
can  be  eradicated  and  a total  change  be  effected,  are  undoubt- 
edly great,  and  should  be  fully  understood.  If  the  missions  to 
the  Eskimaux  have  been  so  much  more  successful,  than  those 
amongst  the  more  southern  Indians,  it  has  been  principally, 
because  a profitable  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  impracticable  in 
that  frozen  region,  and  that,  as  the  inhabitants  must  continue  to 
draw  their  subsistence  from  the  sea  or  the  chase,  it  was  only 
requisite  to  regulate  and  not  necessary  to  change  their  habits. 

The  attempt  may  be  hopeless  with  respect  to  men  beyond  a 
certain  age  ; and  the  effort  should  be  directed  towards  the  chil- 
dren. For  that  purpose,  it  is  sufficient,  that  the  parent  should 
be  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  absolute  necessity  for  a change, 
without  requiring  him  to  do  himself  what  perhaps  has  be- 
come impracticable.  If  that  point  could  be  accomplished,  and 
the  Indians  would  permit  their  children  to  be  brought  up  by  us, 
the  success  of  the  experiment  would  depend  on  those  appointed 
to  superintend  its  execution.  Moral  and  religious  education  will 
not  be  neglected.  In  the  present  state  of  those  people,  no 
greater  demand  need  be  made  on  their  intellectual  faculties,  than 
to  teach  them  the  English  language ; but  this  so  thoroughly, 
that  they  may  forget  their  own.  That,  without  which  all  the 
rest  would  be  useless,  is  the  early  habit  of  manual  labor.  They 
must  be  brought  up  to  work,  to  till  the  ground,  in  short,  in  the 
same  manner  as  our  own  people,  as  the  sons  of  our  industrious 
farmers.  They  have  land  of  their  own,  and  will  not,  when 
reaching  manhood,  be  obliged  to  work  for  others.  They  have 
an  abundant  quantity  of  land,  and  may,  if  they  please,  be  per- 
petuated and  multiply  as  ourselves.  There  is  no  reason  why,  if 
they  become  an  agricultural  people,  the  sixty  thousand  southern 
Indians  should  not,  within  less  than  a century,  increase  to  one 
million. 


160 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


SECTION  VI. 

INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  vocabularies  appended  to  this  essay  will  enable  the 
reader  to  judge,  whether  the  preceding  classification  of  the 
Indian  languages  is  correct.  Those  of  the  Mohawk,  Seneca, 
Cherokee,  Muskhogee,  Choctaw,  and  Caddo,  were  prepared 
according  to  a model  circulated  by  the  War  Department  at 
the  request  of  the  author  of  this  essay.  But,  in  framing  a 
general  comparative  vocabulary,  the  selection  of  the  words  was 
controlled  by  the  existing  materials ; and  many  have  been 
omitted,  because  they  were  found  only  in  a few  of  the  vocabu- 
laries, either  manuscript,  or  already  published,  which  could  be 
obtained.  It  happens,  however,  that  the  greater  number  of 
words  of  which  we  have  the  equivalents  in  most  Indian  langua- 
ges, belong  to  that  class,  which  has  generally  been  considered 
as  so  absolutely  necessary  in  any  state  of  society,  that  the 
words  of  which  it  consists  must  have  been  in  use  everywhere 
in  its  earliest  stages,  and  could  not  have  been  borrowed  by  any 
nation  from  any  other.  Whenever  therefore  a sufficient  num- 
ber of  words  of  that  description  have  been  found  to  be  the  same 
or  similar  in  two  or  more  languages,  such  languages  have 
generally  been  considered  as  of  the  same  stock,  and  the 
nations  which  spoke  them,  as  having  belonged  to  the  same 
family,  subsequent  to  the  time  when  mankind  was  divided  into 
distinct  nations.  The  same  principle  has  been  adopted  in  the 
classification  of  the  Indians ; and  its  correctness  has  been 
proved  in  every  instance,  where  it  had  been  previously  ascer- 
tained, by  the  unanimous  testimony  of  the  missionaries,  traders, 
and  interpreters,  that  two  or  more  languages  were  certainly 
dialects  of  the  same,  or  kindred  tongues.  But  such  is  the 
tendency  of  languages,  amongst  nations  in  the  hunter  state, 
rapidly  to  diverge  from  each  other,  that,  apart  from  those 
primitive  words,  a much  greater  diversity  is  found  in  Indian 
languages,  well  known  to  have  sprung  from  a common  source, 
than  in  kindred  European  tongues.  Thus,  although  the  Minsi 
were  only  a tribe  of  the  Delawares  and  adjacent  to  them,  even 
some  of  their  numerals  differed.  It  is  proper  however  to  ob- 
serve, that  commerce  may  have  communicated  to  barbarous 
tribes  in  the  other  hemisphere,  the  numerals  used  by  more 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


161 


civilized  nations  ; and  that,  as  between  hunters  and  hunters 
there  are  rarely  any  objects  of  exchange,  numerals  cannot  in 
America  have  been  borrowed  by  one  tribe  from  another.  The 
pronouns  of  the  first  and  second  person  belong  also  in  the 
Indian  languages  to  the  class  of  primitive  words.  No  definitive 
opinion  can,  for  want  of  sufficient  materials,  be  formed  with 
respect  to  prepositions. 

An  apprehension  of  being  deceived  by  false  etymologies,  or 
accidental  coincidences,  has  perhaps  led  into  a contrary  error. 
The  only  case  where  any  language  has  been  placed  as  belong- 
ing to  a certain  family,  without  conclusive  proof,  is  that  of  the 
Minetares.  But  there  are  several,  and  particularly  the  Choctaw 
and  Muskhogee,  which  have  been  set  down  as  forming  distinct 
families,  that  will  probably  be  found,  on  further  investigation, 
to  belong  to  the  same.  Some  of  the  vocabularies  are  not 
sufficiently  copious  ; in  many  instances,  affinities  will  be  dis- 
covered through  the  medium  of  kindred  dialects  ; and,  in 
order  to  have  a full  view  of  the  subject,  we  should  have  not 
only  a small  collection  of  primitive  words,  but  dictionaries  in- 
cluding derivatives.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  numeral,  one,  in 
Choctaw  is,  achufa,  and,  in  Muskhogee,  humma,  between  which 
there  is  not  the  slightest  affinity.  Yet  it  is  revealed  by  the 
Choctaw  word  for  once,  which  is  himmunna.  It  is  therefore 
highly  probable,  that  the  number  of  distinct  families  of  Indian 
languages  will  be  found  to  be  less  than  has  been  here  stated  ; 
though,  at  the  same  time,  that  of  subordinate  dialects  is  un- 
doubtedly greater. 

The  diversity  which  does  actually  exist  proves  only,  that 
the  separation  of  some  of  the  Indian  nations  took  place  in  very 
early  times ; and  the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  it  is  not 
greater  here  than  on  the  other  continent.  We  find  there,  in 
one  quarter,  the  Sanscrit  and  the  Chinese  in  juxtaposition,  and, 
in  another,  the  Basque  surrounded  by  languages  of  Latin 
origin.  The  same  cause,  which  produced  that  effect,  may, 
under  different  circumstances,  have  given  rise  to  ten,  instead  of 
two  totally  distinct  languages.  In  point  of  fact,  the  number 
does  not  appear  to  be  greater  in  North  America  than  in  Africa, 
in  the  northeastern  parts  of  Asia,  or  in  the  Oceanic  region. 
The  varieties  of  languages  and  of  dialects  must  be  more  num- 
erous amongst  uncivilized  tribes,  principally  those  in  the  hunter 
state,  necessarily  subdivided  into  small  communities,  than  in 
populous  nations  united  under  one  government.  Public  speaking 

VOL.  II.  21 


162  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

in  their  councils  is  the  only  standard  of  language  of  our 
Indians.  None  can  become  fixed  and  stable,  until  that  char- 
acter has  been  imparted  to  it  by  the  art  of  writing  and  the 
influence  of  powerful  writers.  We  have  proofs  of  the  multi- 
tude, at  least,  of  dialects,  which  will  spring  out  of  an  oral  lan- 
guage, in  those  of  Germany  and  of  Italy,  and  in  the  Patois  of 
France.  These  are  indeed  but  varieties  of  the  French,  with 
a greater  or  less  residue  of  Latin  or  of  the  other  more  ancient 
language  of  Gaul  ;*  but  they  still  differ  (much  more  in  words 
than  in  grammatical  forms),  and  are  perpetuated,  notwithstand- 
ing the  long-continued  influence  of  a common  government  and 
of  a common  written  language.  To  those  obvious  causes  of  a 
tendency  to  produce  changes,  we  may  add,  that  inflected 
languages  seem  to  be  more  liable  to  alterations,  than  those 
which,  like  that  spoken  in  China,  consist  principally  of  mono- 
syllables. 

Although,  for  a proper  study  of  the  character  of  a language, 
a dictionary  could  afford  but  little  aid,  if  it  did  not  include 
derivatives  and  compound  words,  even  our  meagre  vocabula- 
ries, if  thoroughly  investigated,  might  offer  interesting  results. 
Thus  for  instance,  a single  glance  at  the  table  of  numerals 
shows,  that  all  the  Indian  nations  have  resorted  to  a decimal 
numeration.  But  an  examination  of  several  of  the  languages 
will  afford  proof,  that  they  must  at  first  have  counted  by  jives , 
instead  of  tens.  Thus,  in  the  Choctaw,  the  numerals  seven 
and  eight , untuklo  and  untuchina , are  evidently  derived  from 
tulclo  two  and  trichina  three,  meaning  respectively,  five  and 
two,  five  and  three.  The  same  will  be  found  in  various  other 
languages,  and  particularly  in  those  belonging  to  the  Algonkin- 
Lenape.  A further  investigation  will  also  show,  that,  although 
the  Knistinaux,  Chippeways,  Algonkins,  and  Abenakis  use 
for  the  unity  the  word  peyac,  or  paizhik,  instead  of  nequit  or 
ngut,  as  the  other  nations  of  the  same  stock,  they  must  origin- 
ally have  had  also  the  last  word  ; since  their  numeral  six  is, 
in  all  of  them,  derived  from  it.  It  is  probable,  that  those  two 

* In  seventh-five  French  Patois,  of  which  specimens  have  been 
lately  published,  no  greater  grammatical  variations  are  to  be  found  than 
the  union  of  the  pronoun  with  the  verb,  such  as  Soui  for  Je  suis.  In 
one,  in  the  Ardennes,  the  pronoun  coalesces  with  the  noun,  as  in  our 
Indian  languages ; M'per , and  S'per,  for  Mon  pere  and  Son  phre.  Mr. 
Heckewelder’s  apostrophe  has,  probably  for  the  same  purpose,  been 
used  by  the  French  writer.  - 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


163 


words  were  used,  as  a and  one  are,  in  the  English  language  ; 
and  Mr.  Schoolcraft  corroborates  that  which  with  me  could 
only  be  a conjecture. 

It  will  also  be  found,  that,  in  the  Ivnistinaux  and  the  Chippe- 
way,  the  initial  m is  often  prefixed  to  the  noun,  instead  of  the 
pronominal  characteristics  ft,  k,  w,  when  such  nouns  are  taken 
in  an  absolute  or  abstract  sense,  as,  miskcewon,  nose,  misko- 
tick,  forehead,  meeton , mouth,  meepit , teeth,  &c.  ; which  seems 
to  corroborate  the  existence  of  a definite  article  mo,  discovered 
by  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  in  Eliot’s  translation  of  the  Bible. 

Another  feature,  which  may  be  discovered  by  the  vocabu- 
laries, consists  in  the  different  names,  by  which  all  the  Indian 
nations  distinguish  the  various  degrees  and  modifications  of 
relationship,  such  as  the  elder  brother,  and  the  elder  sister,  as 
distinguished  from  the  younger  ones  ; paternal,  or  maternal 
uncle,  &c.  But  what  is  remarkable,  as  a feature  common  to  all, 
is,  that  women  use  different  words  from  men  for  those  pur- 
poses ; and  that  the  difference  of  language,  between  men  and 
women,  seems,  in  all  the  Indian  languages,  to  be  confined  to 
that  species  of  words,  or  others  of  an  analogous  nature,  and  to 
the  use  of  interjections. 

It  is  perhaps  less,  however,  in  dictionaries,  than  by  an  inves- 
tigation of  grammatical  forms  and  structure,  that  we  must 
study  the  philosophy  of  language  and  the  various  ways,  in 
which  man  has  applied  his  faculties  to  that  object.  We  may 
discover  in  their  Relations,  that  the  Jesuits  had  analyzed  the 
two  principal  languages  spoken  in  Canada.  The  venerable 
Eliot  had  in  his  Grammar,  published  in  1666,  exhibited  the 
most  prominent  features  of  the  Massachusetts  dialect.  And 
we  have  long  been  in  possession  of  good  grammars  of  several 
of  the  languages  of  Mexico  and  South  America  by  the  Catho- 
lic missionaries.  But  it  was  not,  till  after  the  publication  of 
the  more  popular  works  of  Egede  # and  of  Crantz,  that  public 
attention  was  attracted  by  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Karalit 
or  Eskimau  language.  And  the  first  inference  was,  that  the 
Eskimaux  must  have  been  a colony  from  Europe,  or  from  some 
other  civilized  country,  and  a distinct  race  from  the  other 
American  Indians.  In  the  year  1819,  Mr.  Du  Ponceau,  after 
having  elicited  with  much  labor,  from  Mr.  Heckewelder,  the 
principal  features  of  the  Delaware,  and  compared  it  with  the 


* Alluding  to  his  account  of  Groenland,  rather  than  to  his  Grammar. 


164  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

Eskimau,  with  the  languages  of  South  America,  and  with  the 
scanty  specimens  within  his  reach  of  those  of  our  own  Indians, 
submitted  to  the  further  investigation  of  the  learned  the  three 
following  propositions,  to  wit  : 

1.  That  the  American  languages  in  general  are  rich  in 
words  and  in  grammatical  forms,  and  that,  in  their  complicated 
construction,  the  greatest  order,  method,  and  regularity  prevail. 

2.  That  these  complicated  forms,  which  he  calls  polysyn- 
thetic, appear  to  exist  in  all  those  languages  from  Greenland  to 
Cape  Horn. 

3.  That  these  forms  appear  to  differ  essentially  from  those 
of  the  ancient  and  modern  languages  of  the  old  hemisphere. 

The  last  proposition  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this 
essay,  and  is  far  beyond  my  very  limited  knowledge  of  lan- 
guages. All  the  information,  connected  with  the  first  propos- 
ition, which  could  be  obtained,  has  been  collected,  and  will  be 
found  in  a condensed  form  in  the  annexed  grammatical  notices 
and  specimens  of  conjugations.  But  the  inquiry  has,  with  a 
single  exception,  been  confined  to  the  languages  of  our  own 
Indians;  and  the  result,  so  far  as  it  goes,  fully  confirms  the 
first  two  propositions  of  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  ; although  I think, 
that  there  is  less  of  method  and  regularity  in  the  Delaware  and 
other  dialects  of  the  Algonkin-Lenape,  than  in  some  of  the 
other  Indian  languages. 

Yet  the  materials  are  very  incomplete  ; although  we  may 
perceive  the  general  features,  we  cannot  yet  deduce  with  suf- 
ficient precision  the  rules  of  grammar  or  of  the  composition  of 
words ; and  there  is  some  difficulty  in  discriminating  between 
the  specific  characters  which  distinguish  certain  languages,  and 
the  general  features  which  belong  to  all.  But  we  are  at  least 
justified  in  asserting,  that  such  a general  character  does  exist,  that 
it  applies  to  all  those  American  languages  which  have  been  suf- 
ficiently investigated,  and  that  it  seems  to  prove,  beyond  a doubt, 
that  common  origin,  which  could  not  be  discovered  in  vocabula- 
ries so  entirely  different  from  each  other.  It  is  not  however 
intended  to  assert,  that  all  the  American  languages,  without 
exception,  possess  that  general  character.  It  would  indeed 
appear  more  astonishing,  to  find  them  all  belonging  to  one  and 
the  same  family,  than  to  discover  some,  like  the  Chinese  in 
Asia,  and  the  Basque  in  Europe,  of  a structure  altogether 
differing  from  the  general  mass. 

The  fundamental  characteristic  of  the  Indian  languages  of 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


165 


America  appears  to  be  a universal  tendency  to  express  in  the 
same  word,  not  only  all  that  modifies  or  relates  to  the  same 
object,  or  action,  but  both  the  action  and  the  object ; thus  con- 
centrating in  a single  expression  a complex  idea,  or  several 
ideas  among  which  there  is  a natural  connexion.  All  the 
other  features  of  the  language  seem  to  be  subordinate  to  that 
general  principle.  The  object  in  view  has  been  attained  by 
various  means  of  the  same  tendency  and  often  blended  together: 
a multitude  of  inflections  properly  so  called  ; a still  greater  num- 
ber of  compound  words,  sometimes  formed  by  the  coalescence 
of  primitive  words  not  materially  altered,  more  generally  by  the 
union  of  many  such  words  in  a remarkably  abbreviated  form ; 
and  numerous  particles,  either  significative,  or  the  original 
meaning  of  which  has  been  lost,  prefixed,  added  as  termina- 
tions, or  inserted  in  the  body  of  the  word. 

The  modern  languages  of  Europe  generally,  and  none  more 
than  the  English,  have  substituted,  for  the  inflections  of  the 
ancient  languages,  auxiliary  verbs  and  separable  prepositions  ; 
and  the  inflections  or  compounded  words,  in  the  classical  lan- 
guages, bear  no  proportion  in  point  of  number  to  the  multiplied 
forms  and  combinations  exhibited  by  those  of  the  Indians. 

Notwithstanding  this  great  apparent  complexness,  all  these 
various  forms,  either  of  inflected  or  compounded  words,  must 
necessarily  have  their  foundation  in  analogy,  modified  by  eupho- 
ny : but  they  render  a competent  acquirement  of  the  language 
extremely  difficult  to  a foreigner ; and  even  after  this  object  has 
been  attained,  more  by  routine  than  in  any  other  way,  it  mustlbe 
no  easy  task  for  the  student,  to  analyze  the  words,  to  reduce 
them  to  their  proper  elements,  to  class  them  in  conformity  with 
the  genius  of  the  language,  and  to  convey  to  others  his  knowl- 
edge with  method  and  sufficient  perspicuity. 

This  remains  to  be  done  for  almost  every  Indian  language  ; 
and  we  can,  in  the  mean  while,  only  try  to  give  some  imperfect 
notions  of  the  most  general  features  which  appear  to  have  been 
ascertained. 


, Number  and  Gender. 

There  is  a great  variety  in  the  Indian  languages  with  respect 
to  Genders  and  Number. 

Like  all  others,  they  have  various  distinct  words,  expressive 
of  the  differences  of  sex  in  the  human  species,  in  reference 


166  A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

principally  to  age  and  consanguinity  ; such  as,  father  and  mother, 
son  and  daughter,  man  and  woman,  boy  and  girl,  &c. ; and  also 
distinct  names  for  the  male  and  female  of  various  animals. 
But,  if  the  grammatical  distinction  of  gender  be  understood,  as 
applying  exclusively  to  the  varied  inflections  by  which  it  is 
designated,  the  Eskimaux,the  Choctaws,  the  Muskhogees,  and, 
it  is  believed,  the  Sioux,  having  no  inflection  of  that  description, 
may,  in  that  sense,  be  said  to  make  no  distinction  between  gen- 
ders. And  the  languages  of  the  Iroquois  family  afford  the  only 
instance,  as  yet  discovered,  of  such  a distinction  between  the 
masculine  and  the  feminine. 

Father  Brebeuf  pointed  it  out,*  in  the  third  person  of  both 
the  singular  and  the  plural  of  the  Huron,  or  Wyandot : ihaton, 
‘ he  says’;  iouaton,  ‘she  says’;  ihonton,  ‘they  say  (the  men)’  ; 
ionton,  ‘ they  say  (the  women)’.  The  same  distinction  and 
applied  to  the  same  person  is  found  in  Zeisberger’s  Grammar  of 
the  Onondago,  a language  of  the  same  family : waharrie,  ‘ he 
beats’;  iagorrie,  ‘she  beats’;  hottirrie,  ‘they  (the  men)  beat’; 
guetirrie,  ‘ they  (women)  beat.’  And  we  find  it  again  in  the 
specimen  of  the  conjugation  of  the  verb  “ to  eat,”  in  the  Mo- 
hawk, another  Iroquois  language-!  1°  these  cases  the 
inflection  is  that  of  the  pronoun  of  the  third  person.  Zeisberger 
also  discovered  it  in  some  Onondago  nouns,  where,  as  well  as 
in  the  pronoun  of  that  dialect,  it  is  generally  expressed  by  pre- 
fixing or  inserting  the  sound  g:  sajadat,  ‘a  male’;  sgajadat,  ‘a 
female.’ 

A much  more  prevailing  distinction  is  that  between  animate 
beings  and  inanimate  things.  It  is  not,  however,  universal, 
since  it  does  not  exist  in  the  Eskimau,  the  Choctaw,  the  Musk- 
hogee,  and  the  Caddo,  and  has  not,  as  yet,  been  discovered  in  any 
other  of  our  Indian  languages  than  the  Iroquois,  the  Cherokee, 
and  the  Algonkin-Lenape. 

Our  information  respecting  the  Iroquois  is  very  limited  ; and 
we  can  say  little  more  than  that  the  distinction  is  made.  The 
only  notice  taken  of  it  in  Zeisberger’s  Onondago  Grammar  is 
(when  speaking  of  the  prefixed  letters  by  which,  in  some  cases, 
the  feminine  are  distinguished  from  masculine  nouns),  in  these 
words,  “ Nouns  of  inanimate  objects  have  no  prefixes  and 


# See  his  letter  of  July,  1636,  in  the  Appendix, 
t See  Appendix,  verbal  forms ; and  do.  and  grammatical  notices  of 
Zeisberger. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


167 


accept  none.”  In  our  Seneca  vocabulary,  as  well  as  in  another 
printed  in  London,  a word  is  given  for  the  pronoun  it,  distinct 
from  those  for  he  or  she.  And  Father  Brebeuf,  in  the  letter 
already  alluded  to,  amongst  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the 
Huron  verbs,  says,  “ that  they  have  some  for  animated  beings, 
and  others  for  things  without  life.”  * 

In  the  Cherokee  language,  Mr.  Pickering  has  pointed  out 
the  prefixed  particles,  used  to  designate  the  plural,  which  are 
commonly  assigned  to  inanimate  nouns,  and  those  belonging  to 
the  animate  class  : kutusi,  £a  mountain’;  tikutusi,  ‘mountains’ ; 
atsutsu,  ‘ a boy  ’ ; anitsutsu,  ‘ boys  ’ ; a distinction  which,  in  various 
cases,  extends  to  adjectives.  And  it  will  be  seen  amongst  Mr. 
Worcester’s  answers  to  grammatical  queries,  that  the  same  dis- 
tinction prevails,  both  in  the  third  person  of  intransitive  verbs, 
and  in  the  inflections  of  transitive  verbs,  according  as  they 
govern  the  noun  of  an  animate,  or  of  an  inanimate  object. 

But  it  is  in  the  languages  of  the  Algonkin-Lenape  family,  that 
the  distinction  is  most  remarkable,  and  may  be  considered  as 
one  of  its  specific  characteristics.  It  was  first  pointed  out  by 
Father  Le  Jeune  in  the  Algonkin,  f and  distinctly  stated  by 
John  Eliot  in  the  Massachusetts,  is  repeatedly  alluded  to  in 
F ather  Rasle’s  Dictionary  of  the  Abenaki,  specially  mentioned  in 
Father  Maynard’s  notes  on  the  Micmac,  and  explained  in  Mr. 
Heckewelder’s  correspondence  with  Mr.  Du  Ponceau  respecting 
the  Delaware  dialect.  ££  The  principle,”  Mr.  Schoolcraft 
observes  in  his  lectures  on  the  Ojibway  (Chippeway)  language, 
££  has  been  grafted  upon  most  words  and  carries  its  distinction 
throughout  the  syntax.  It  is  the  gender  of  the  language,  and 
of  so  unbounded  a scope,  as  to  give  a twofold  character  to  the 
parts  of  speech.”  We  find  accordingly  that  the  inflection,  which 
designates  the  plural  of  nouns,  varies  according  to  the  class  to 
which  the  noun  belongs.  According  to  the  dialect  or  different 
language,  it  is  og,  aig , or  ak  for  the  animate ; ain,  ash,  or  all 
for  the  inanimate  gender  : but  the  vocal  sound  which  precedes 
the  characteristic  consonant  varies,  according  to  euphony,  or 

* Charlevoix,  a faithful  compiler,  who  derived  his  information  respect- 
ing Indian  languages  from  the  writings  of  Brebeuf  and  other  early  his- 
torians, has  inserted  the  observation  in  his  journal.  But  he  assigns 
erroneously  to  the  Huron  the  exclusion  of  the  distinction  between 
masculine  and  feminine.  It  is  the  Algonkin,  instead  of  the  Iroquois 
languages,  which  do  not  make  that  distinction. 

f See  above,  Section  II.,  under  the  head  of  Algonkins. 


168  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [lNTROD. 

usage.  Zeisberger  seems  to  confine  the  use  of  the  Delaware 
animate  termination  ok  to  substantives  without  the  prefixed 
pronoun. 

Adjectives,  when  susceptible  of  a plural  form,  are  subject  to 
a similar  variation  of  inflection,  according  as  the  noun,  with 
which  they  are  connected,  is  of  the  animate  or  inanimate  class. 
Numerals  and  demonstrative  pronouns  appear  to  follow  the 
same  rule  as  adjectives.  The  distinction  seems  to  be  wanted 
in  the  personal  and  possessive  pronoun  of  the  third  person ; or, 
at  least,  it  has  not,  if  it  does  exist,  been  distinctly  pointed  out. 
But  the  inflection  of  the  verb  varies  in  reference  to  the  nature 
of  the  noun  it  governs.  Thus,  in  the  Massachusetts  ; ‘ I keep 
him,’  Noowadehan;  ‘I  keep  it,’  Noowadchanumun:  in  the 
Delaware  ; ‘ I see  a man,’  Lenno  newau;  ‘ I see  a house,’  Wi- 
quam  nemen:  in  the  Chippeway;  ‘/see  a man,’  n’wabima;  lI 
see  a house,’  n’wabindan.  We  are  not  however  informed, 
whether  the  terminations  or  inflections  of  the  verb,  which  dis- 
tinguish, whether  its  regimen  belongs  to  the  animate  or  inani- 
mate class,  are  always  the  same,  or,  if  they  vary,  whether  the 
variations  are  due  to  euphony,  or  usage,  or  may  be  traced  to 
some  other  principle  ? It  appears  also  that  there  are  some  cases, 
where  the  termination  of  the  noun  governed  by  the  verb  is 
altered  on  account  of  the  class  to  which  it  belongs. 

According  to  Eliot,  “ there  seemeth  to  be  one  cadency  of  the 
form  animate,  which  endeth  in  oh,  uh,  ah,  when  an  animate  noun 
followeth  a verb  transitive.  Thus  anogqs,  ‘ a star,’  (which  by  the 
Indians  is  considered  as  animate)  in  the  plural  is  anogqsog,  ‘stars.’ 
But  in  the  sentence,  ‘ He  made  stars,’  this  last  word  must  be 
anogqsoh,  because  it  followeth  (is  governed  by)  the  verb  agim, 
‘ he  made.’  ” This  it  would  seem,  if  I have  not  mistaken  Mr. 
Schoolcraft’s  meaning,  is  confined  to  the  case  when  the  verb  is 
in  the  third  person.  There  is  in  that  person  no  distinction 
between  the  singular  and  the  plural ; and  its  termination,  oh,  ah 
in  the  Massachusetts,  un,  in,  &c.  in  the  Chippeway,  is  given  not 
only  to  the  verb,  but  to  the  regimen  when  this  belongs  to  the 
animate  class.  It  appears,  that,  in  the  Chippeway,  that  termina- 
tion (un,  in,  &c.)  is  also  that  of  the  plural  of  inanimate  things  ; 
but  why  these  are  not,  in  all  the  languages  of  that  family,  sub- 
ject to  the  same  rule  as  animate  beings,  does  not  appear ; and 
all  that  relates  to  regimen,  with  respect  both  to  nouns  and  pro- 
nouns of  the  third  person,  requires  further  investigation  and 
explanation. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


169 


The  class  of  animate  beings  is  not  in  the  Algonkin  languages 
confined  to  animals.  In  the  Massachusetts,  it  embraces  cer- 
tainly the  stars  and  probably  several  other  personified  objects ; 
but,  according  to  Eliot,  all  vegetables  belong  to  the  inanimate, 
whilst  forest  trees,  both  in  the  Delaware  and  the  Chippeway, 
are  included  in  the  animate  class.  Various  other  objects,  not 
probably  always  the  same  in  every  dialect,  are  also  considered 
as  belonging  to  it,  on  account  of  peculiar  properties  belonging 
or  ascribed  to  them.  Such  are,  at  least  in  the  Chippeway,  a 
stone,  a bow,  a kettle,  a pipe,  &c.#  It  was  probably  in  refer- 
ence to  this,  that  the  French  Missionaries  have  designated  the 
two  classes  by  the  names  noble  and  ignoble.- 

It  will  be  easily  perceived,  that,  if  this  distinction  constitutes 
an  essential  character  of  the  Algonkin-Lenape  languages,  it  is 
not  on  account  of  the  principle  itself,  but  of  its  extensive  ap- 
plication, which  pervades  the  whole  language,  and  affects  the 
termination  of  every  part  of  speech  without  excepting  the 
adverbs.  The  existence  of  the  neuter  gender,  in  the  classical 
languages,  renders  it  almost  certain,  that  it  had  its  origin  in  the 
same  distinction.  But,  by  a deviation,  much  more  extensive 
than  any  found  in  the  Indian  tongues,  the  greater  number  of 
inanimate  objects  came  to  be  designated  by  the  masculine  and 
feminine  genders.  In  the  French,  the  neuter  has  been  alto- 
gether excluded  ; and  the  arbitrary  distinction  of  masculine  and 
feminine  is  one  of  the  great  difficulties  of  the  language,  one 
also,  of  which  the  application  is  very  extensive,  on  account  of 
the  change  of  termination  to  which  not  only  the  pronouns  but  the 
adjectives  are  subject.  In  the  English,  the  natural  distinction 
between  inanimate  and  animate,  and  the  subdivision  of  the  last 
class,  according  to  sex,  have  been  preserved  or  adopted  : but 
adjectives  are  indeclinable  ; and  the  distinction  appears  only  in 
the  third  person  singular  of  the  personal  and  possessive  pronouns 
and  in  the  relative  ; so  that,  if  the  words  her,  it,  hers,  its,  who, 
whom,  and  whose  were  expunged  from  the  language,  it  might 
be  said  of  it,  as  of  the  Eskimau,  that  it  had  no  genders.  But 
the  distinction  has  been  preserved,  in  the  English,  in  the  case 
where  it  was  most  needed,  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  the 
ambiguity  inherent  in  the  third  person  of  the  pronoun  ; whilst, 
in  the  Algonkin,  this  is  the  very  case  which  appears  not  to  be 
provided  for,  the  characteristic  sign  of  the  third  person  being 


VOL.  II. 


# Mr.  Schoolcraft. 
22 


170  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

either  omitted  altogether,  or  the  same  for  the  animate  and  inan- 
imate genders. 

Nice  distinctions  may,  in  a purely  oral  language,  escape  the 
notice  of  the  inquirer,  if  their  application  should  happen  to  be 
limited  to  a few  particular  cases ; and  of  this  at  least  one 
instance  in  point  may  be  given. 

We  have,  in  order  to  institute  a useful  comparison,  inserted, 
amongst  the  grammatical  notices,  an  extract  of  Father  Febre’s 
Grammar  of  the  language  of  Chili.*  The  distinction  between 
animate  and  inanimate,  which  was  not  adverted  to  by  Molina,  is 
there  pointed  out,  but  incidentally  and  only  in  a single  case. 
The  particle  pu,  prefixed  to  nouns,  is  the  common  sign  of  the 
plural,  and  is  properly  applicable  to  animate,  though  sometimes 
used  for  inanimate  objects.  But  the  proper  designation  of  the 
plural  for  the  inanimate  class,  is  the  termination  ica,  substituted 
for  the  pu  prefixed. 

The  plural  number  of  the  nouns  is  in  most  Indian  languages 
designated  by  the  addition  of  a particle  prefixed,  inserted,  or 
affixed.  It  is  affixed,  or. an  inflection  of  the  termination  in  the 
following: 

Eskimau,  et,  it,  ut ; inn.uk,  ‘ man  ’ ; innuit,  ‘ men  ’ ; iglo,  ‘ a 
house  ’ ; i glut , ‘ houses.’ 

Sioux,  pee;  weetshashtah,  ‘man’;  weetshashtahpee,  ‘ men  ’ ; 
wahtah,  ‘ a canoe’  ; wahtapee,  ‘ canoes.’ 

Algonkin,  as  already  stated,  g,  k for  the  animate  ; sh,  n,  ll  for 
the  inanimate : 

Massachusetts  ; nunksqau,  ‘ a girl  ’ ; nunsqauog,  ‘girls’ ; liussun, 
‘ a stone  ’ ; hussunash,  ‘ stones  ’ : 

Delaware  ; okhqua,  ‘ a woman  ’ ; okhqucwak , ‘ women’ ; akhsin, 
‘ a stone  ’ ; akhsinall,  ‘ stones  ’ : 

Chippeway  ; pinai,  ‘ a partridge  ’ ; pinaiwug , ‘ partridges  ’ ; ossin, 
‘ a stone  ’ ; ossitieen,  ‘ stones.’ 

Cheppeyan  (Athapasca),  tlilang ; dinne,  ‘a  man’;  dinnethlang, 
‘ men  ’ ; tsakhulley , ‘ a hat  ’ ; tsakhulleythlang,  ‘ hats.’ 

In  the  Cherokee  the  plural  is  designated  by  the  prefixed 
particles  t,  ts,  generally  though  not  universally  used  for  inani- 
mate, and  ni  for  animate  nouns. 

In  the  language  of  Chili,  by  pu  prefixed,  or  ica  affixed,  as 
above  stated. 

In  the  Iroquois  languages  by  particles  generally  affixed, 


* I am  indebted  to  Judge  Davis  of  Massachusetts  for  having  pointed 
out  that  excellent  grammar,  and  loaned  to  me  the  only  copy,  I believe, 
in  the  United  States. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


171 


sometimes  inserted,  varying  in  the  several  dialects,  and  even  in 
the  same,  according  to  the  termination  of  the  noun.  The  par- 
ticles shoh,  vie,  ogu  are  used  in  the  Onondago  ; dak,  suh , 
shoeh  in  the  Seneca. 

Seneca ; * hahjenah,  ‘ a man ’ ; hahdahjenah,  ‘men’;  hudagoolioneh, 
‘ a chief’ ; hudagoohonehsuh,  ‘ chiefs.’ 

The  Choctaw,  the  Muskhogee,  and  the  Caddo  nouns  have, 
with  few  special  exceptions,  no  inflection  designating  the  plural. 
That  deficiency  is  respectively  supplied  by  the  words  okla, 
ulgy,  or  homulgy,  and  wia,  all  of  which  mean,  ‘several,’ 
‘ many,’  ‘ a multitude.’ 

When  adjectives  are  connected  (not  incorporated)  with  nouns 
substantive,  the  sign  of  the  plural  may,  in  most  languages,  be 
transferred  to  the  adjective  ; and,  in  the  Sioux,  the  plural  sign 
pee,  added  to  the  last  word  of  the  sentence,  be  it  noun,  verb,  or 
even  adverb,  makes  the  whole  sentence  plural. 

The  plural  of  pronouns,  personal  and  possessive,  is  almost 
universally  designated  by  particular  terminations  or  inflections, 
distinct  from  those  assigned  to  the  plural  of  nouns,  and  which 
will  be  adverted  to,  when  treating  of  conjugations. 

In  all  the  languages  which  have  been  investigated,  with  the 
exception  of  those  of  the  Sioux  family,  concerning  which  the 
information  is  not  sufficient,  there  is,  besides  the  singular  and 
general  or  indefinite  plural,  a third  number,  which  is  sometimes 
a dual,  more  generally  a definite  or  special  plural,  occasionally 
assuming  both  forms. 

It  is  represented  as  a pure  dual  by  the  grammarians  of  the 
Eskimau,  and  of  the  language  of  Chili ; and  it  appears  to  be 
such  in  the  Athapasca.  In  the  various  dialects  of  the  Algon- 
kin-Lenape,  and  in  the  Choctaw,  it  is  a definite  plural ; but, 
although  including  always,  in  every  such  dialect,  a definite 
number  of  persons,  it  is  not  applied  precisely  in  the  same  man- 
ner in  all. 

In  the  Delaware,  according  to  Mr.  Heckewelder,  it  embraces 
our  family,  nation,  select  body,  us  who  are  here  assembled,  in 
this  room  ; and  including  therefore,  at  least  when  he,  or  they 
belong  to  the  nation  or  select  body,  the  person  or  persons 
spoken  to.  But  in  the  Chippeway,  as  we  are  informed  by  Mr. 
Schoolcraft,  it  always  excludes  the  person  or  persons  thus 
spoken  to ; and  it  is  used  in  the  same  manner  in  the  Micmac. 


* Seneca  Spelling-Book.  London,  1818.  This  was  not  seen  till 
after  the  appended  vocabularies  had  been  prepared  for  the  press, 


172  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

The  following  examples  given  by  Father  Maynard  appear  con- 
clusive in  that  respect;  “ Rik  tan  Tcinoo  aunka  moolk,”  ‘ There 
is  somebody  who  sees  us,’  is  the  indefinite  plural  ; “ JSinenoo-en 
oolanook  najamooloktau,”  ‘ One  of  us  will  go  this  evening  to  see 
you,’  is  the  special  or  definite  form;  and  it  is  obvious  that,  ‘ one 
of  us  ’ contrasted  with  ‘ you ,’  excludes  the  person  spoken  to.  The 
Jc\  characteristic  of  the  second  person,  is  always  prefixed  in  the 
general,  and  the  n\  characteristic  of  the  first  person,  in  the 
special  or  definite  plural,  in  both  the  Chippeway  and  the  Del- 
aware languages.  It  will  be  seen  hereafter,  that  it  is  a constant 
rule  in  both,  that  whenever  the  second  person,  whether  in  the 
nominative  or  objective  case,  is  one  of  the  pronouns  connected 
with  the  verb,  h?  is  prefixed.  Therefore,  the  «’  prefixed  to  the 
special  plural  shows  that  the  second  person  was  intended  to  be 
excluded,  that  the  Chippeways  have  preserved  the  original 
meaning  of  that  plural,  and  that  the  Delawares  have  departed 
from  it.  And  this  seems  to  corroborate  the  opinion,  that  the 
Chippeway,  or  Algonkin,  is  the  primary  language,  and  the  Dela- 
ware one  of  those  derived  from  it. 

In  the  Choctaw,  where  pishno  is  the  pronoun  of  the  first 
person  for  the  definite,  and  hupishno  that  for  the  indefinite  ; 
according  to  Mr.  Wright,  “ liupishno  is  used,  when  speaking  of 
an  action  in  which  all  the  hearers  are  concerned.  But  if  all 
the  hearers  are  not  concerned  in  it,  but  only  the  speaker  and 
some  other  persons  (understood  or  designated), pishno  is  used.” 

It  is  not  practicable,  from  the  specimens  we  have  of  the 
Caddo,  to  decide  whether  the  third  number  is  a dual,  or  a defi- 
nite plural.  It  appears  to  be  a dual  in  the  Muskhogee. 

In  the  Cherokee,  the  distinctions  connected  with  number 
are  more  minute  than  in  the  Algonkin  and  Choctaw.  There 
are  in  that  language  distinct  words  or  inflections  for  each  of  the 
following  combinations  of  pronouns  either  personal  or  posses- 
sive, viz.  he  and  I ; they  and  I ; thou  and  I ; you  and  I ; you 
two ; you  all ; they.  Of  these  combinations,  the  two  last  are 
the  indefinite  plural  for  the  second  and  third  persons  ; the  first, 
third,  and  fifth  are  three  distinct  forms  of  the  dual ; the  second 
and  fourth,  two  distinct  forms  of  a special  plural ; but  none  is 
given  for  a general  plural  we  which  might  include  you  and  they 
with  the  speaker. 

Zeisberger’s  Grammar  of  the  Onondago  throws  no  light  on 
the  subject.  But  the  examples  given  by  Father  Brebeuf  of  the 
Huron  (in  the  letter  already  quoted)  show,  that,  though  proba- 
bly differing  in  the  details,  the  distinctions  that  relate  to  the 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


173 


number,  are,  in  the  Iroquois  languages,  founded  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple as  in  the  Cherokee.  ‘We  set  off,  thou  and  I,’  kiarascsa  ; 
‘he  and  I,’  aiarascxa ; ‘we,  several  of  us’  ( nous  autres ) 
axarascxa;  ‘we  along  with  you,’  exarascxa. 

In  the  Eskimau,  the  dual  applies  not  only  to  pronouns,  but 
also  to  nouns  which,  in  that  number  have  a distinct  inflection 
from  the  plural,  viz.  k : iglo,  ‘ a house  ’ ; dual,  igluk  ; plural,  iglut. 
In  all  the  other  languages,  the  inflection  of  nouns  is  the  same 
for  dual,  definite,  or  indefinite  plural.  The  pronouns  are  alone 
affected  by  the  distinction,  and  generally  only  in  the  first  per- 
son ; in  all  the  three  persons  in  the  language  of  Chili ; in  the 
Cherokee  and  Iroquois,  in  the  manner  already  stated.  In  some 
languages,  the  distinction  applies  only  to  the  nominative,  and, 
in  others,  embraces  also  the  objective  case  ; but  the  information 
is  in  that  respect  as  yet  incomplete. 

There  is  a vocative  case  in  some  at  least  of  the  Algonkin- 
Lenape  languages,  terminating,  in  the  singular  of  the  Delaware, 
in  an,  and  of  the  Massachusetts  in  in ; in  the  plural  Delaware 
in  enk,  4‘  when  coupled  with  the  pronoun  our.”  (Zeisberger, 
page  99).  The  same  termination  eunk  is  used  generally  for 
the  second  person  plural  in  the  Massachusetts.  Woi  kenaau 
Jerusalem  wuttaunzunk,  ‘ O ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem.’  (Du 
Ponceau  on  Eliot).  The  only  instance  of  an  inflection  of  the 
noun,  in  what  may  be  called  the  direct  regimen,  correspond- 
ing in  some  degree  with  the  Latin  accusative,  has  been 
pointed  out.*  The  genitive  is  designated  in  the  Eskimau  by 
an  inflection  of  the  noun  ; in  other  languages  occasionally  by  an 
abbreviated  form  of  the  possessive  pronoun,  generally  by  the 
relative  position  of  the  two  nouns.  With  respect  to  the  other 
oblique  cases,  the  offices  performed  by  inflections  in  the  classi- 
cal languages,  and  by  separable  prepositions  in  most  of  those 
of  Europe,  are,  in  those  of  America,  generally  performed  by 
affixed  or  prefixed  inseparable  prepositions.  Delaware ; uteny, 
‘ a town  ’ ; utenink,  ‘ in,  from,  the  town  ’ ; menuppeque,  ‘ the  lake  ’ ; 
awossenuppeque,  ‘over  the  lake.’  In  the  Eskimau,  there  are  but 
five  such  prepositions  ; mik,  ‘ with,  through  ’ ; mil,  ‘ from  ’ ; mut, 
‘ to  ’ ; me,  ‘ in,  upon’ ; kut,  ‘ around.’  They  are  more  numerous  in 
other  languages  ; f and  it  might  be  inferred,  from  the  general 

* The  objective  cases  of  the  pronouns,  or  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  supplied,  will  he  adverted  to  in  the  conjugations. 

f In  the  Onondago,  Zeisberger  gives  fourteen  inseparable  affixed 
prepositions,  meaning,  in,  on,  at,  to,  under,  along,  through,  &c. ; hut 
some  may  be  added  in  the  separable  form. 


174  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

tendency  to  incorporate  the  accessaries  in  the  same  word  with  the 
noun  or  verb,  that  separable  prepositions  were  not  to  be  found, 
or  but  rarely  used,  in  any  Indian  language.  Eliot,  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Grammar,  and  the  authors  of  the  English  Seneca 
Spelling-Book,  have  enumerated  respectively  the  parts  of  speech 
of  those  two  languages ; and  prepositions  are  omitted  in  both. 
But  reasoning  a priori  is  unsafe;  and  facts  are  still  wanted,  in 
order  to  ascertain,  in  almost  all  the  Indian  languages,  the  num- 
ber, the  derivation,  and  the  manner  of  using  or  compounding 
the  inseparable  and  separable  propositions. 

Substantive  Verb.  Conversion  of  Nouns  into  Verbs. 

The  preceding  observations  relate  rather  to  peculiarities 
than  to  the  general  character  of  the  Indian  languages.  The 
substitution  of  intransitive  verbs  for  the  substantive  verb,  in 
cases,  where  this  is  generally  used  in  modern  languages, 
may  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the  general  characters  of  those  at 
least  of  our  Indians. 

It  appears  certain  that  the  Indians  have  one  or  more  verbs, 
expressive  of  locality,  and  corresponding  with  the  verb  to  be, 
when  used  in  that  sense,  as,  ‘ Peter  is  at,  or  in,  such  a place.’ 
And  it  may  be,  that  some  of  the  nations  have  a verb  denoting 
absolute  existence.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  has,  in  his  vocabulary, 

I To  be,’  v.  s.  Jn,  and  ‘ I am,’  1 thou  art,’  nin  dya,  hi  dya  ; 
Mr.  Worcester  mentions  the  Cherokee  verb  geha,  meaning 

I I exist,’  and  sometimes,  ‘ I dwell,’  and  another  defective 
impersonal  verb  gesunggi,  but  which  seems  rather  to  denote 
time,  than  to  apply  to  existence.  Mr.  Compere  alludes  to  a 
Muskbogee  verb,  domist,  as  implying  existence ; and  other 
instances  may  perhaps  be  adduced.  But,  whether  such  a verb 
be  found  or  not  in  some  of  the  languages,  and  whatever  may 
be  its  proper  meaning,  it  is  at  least  certain,  that  no  such  verb 
is  used,  either  as  an  auxiliary  in  the  passive  voice,  or  in  con- 
nexion with  attributes,  or  with  substantives  susceptible  of  a 
verbal  form.  Although  the  English  language  has  a great 
number  of  intransitive  verbs ; yet,  in  the  passive  voice,  or 
when  it  is  intended  to  express  a certain  particular  state  of 
passive  existence,  implying  no  voluntary,  organic,  or  instanta- 
neous action,  the  substantive  verb  is  uniformly  used.  We  say 
indeed, 1 to  run,’  ‘ to  sleep,’  and  even,  ‘ to  die  ’ ; in  which  last  case, 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


175 


the  act  of  dying  is  alone  implied.  But  if  we  intend  to  ex- 
press the  state,  in  which  that  act  places  the  person,  we  must 
recur  to  the  substantive  verb  and  say,  £ He  is  dead.’  I may 
not  have  expressed  the  difference  with  sufficient  perspicuity  ; 
and  the  line  of  distinction  between  the  cases,  where  we  use  an 
intransitive,  and  those  in  which  we  must  resort  to  the  substan- 
tive verb,  is  not  perhaps  always  accurately  drawn  in  the 
language.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  say,  that  in  all 
the  cases,  where  we  use  the  verb  to  be,  in  connexion  with  an 
attribute,  or  with  a noun,  the  Indians  use  an  intransitive  verb  ; 
and  that  where  we  use  it  in  connexion  with  the  participle  past, 
they  substitute  an  inflection.  Thus  the  passive  voice  in  the 
Indian  languages  is,  as  in  the  simple  tenses  of  the  Latin,  formed 
by  an  inflection,  consisting  generally  of  the  insertion  of  a par- 
ticle, such  as  xi,  ssi,  in  the  Delaware,  all  in  the  Choctaw,  &c.* 
And,  instead  of  saying,  ‘I  am  cold,’  £I  am  sick,’  ‘I  am  a 
man,’  &c.,  they  say,  I cold,  I sick,  I man,  &c.  These  various 
expressions  are,  each  of  them,  an  intransitive  verb  conjugated 
through  all  its  persons,  tenses,  and  moods. . The  only  differ- 
ence is,  that,  in  all  those  cases,  it  is  the  substantive  verb  which 
we  conjugate;  whilst  the  Indian  conjugates  what  we  call  the 
adjective  and  even  the  noun  itself,  in  the  same  manner  as  he 
does  other  intransitive  verbs.  We  find,  in  the  Latin  language, 
several  instances  of  similar  neuter  or  deponent  verbs  such  as 
sitio,  esurio,  tegroto,  &c,  which  we  cannot  render  into  English, 
without  resorting  to  the  substantive  verb.  The  Indian  does, 
in  every  instance,  that  which  in  Latin  occurs  only  in  some 
cases  ; and  he  extends  the  principle  to  nouns  and  even  to  proper 
names. 

When  the  process  is  applied  to  a noun,  the  noun  undergoes 
the  inflexion  proper  to  the  verb.  Thus  in  the  Micmae,  from 
lenno,  £a  man,’  is  derived  the  verb,  n’looi,  C I am  a man,’  the 
conjugation  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  But  the 
adjective,  which,  according  to  our  habits,  we  should  consider  as 
converted  into  a verb,  appears  in  the  Indian  languages,  as  if 
it  were  the  simplest  form  of  the  verb.  In  most  cases,  the  word 
he  is  cold,  or  it  is  cold,  is  found  to  be  identical  with  what  we 


* The  passive  voice  in  the  Onondago  and  probably  other  Iroquois 
languages  is  formed  by  an  inflexion,  not  of  the  verb,  but  of  the  pro- 
noun ; and,  in  the  Choctaw,  the  objective  case  of  the  pronoun  is  used, 
beside  the  inserted  particle. 


176  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

call  the  adjective  cold.  Mr.  Zeisberger  accordingly  hesitated, 
whether,  in  his  Grammar  of  the  Delaware  language,  he  should 
consider  the  adjectives  as  a distinct  part  of  speech  ; and  he 
ultimately  arranged  the  greater  number  of  them  under  the 
head  of  verbs  adjective.  There  are  however,  in  every  Indian 
language,  some  adjectives,  or  words  generally  considered  as 
such,  which  from  their  nature  are  not  susceptible  of  a verbal 
form,  or  which  by  usage  appear  only  in  that  of  an  adjective. 
Instances  of  that  kind  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Zeisberger’s  Onon- 
dago  Grammar. 

I believe  that  it  must  appear  sufficiently  obvious,  that  this 
general  if  not  universal  character  of  the  Indian  languages,  the 
conversion  into  verbs  and  the  conjugation,  through  all  the 
persons,  tenses,  and  moods,  of  almost  all  the  adjectives  and  of 
every  noun  which,  without  a palpable  absurdity,  is  susceptible 
of  it,  is  entirely  due  to  the  absence  of  the  substantive  verb  ; * 
the  idea  of  which  is  nevertheless  as  clear  in  the  mind  of  the 
Indian,  when  he  says,  I cold,  and  conjugates  the  word,  as  in 
that  of  the  European,  when  he  says,  ‘ I am  cold,’  and  con- 
jugates the  verb  I am. 

The  adjective,  whether  considered  as  the  root,  or  as  one 
of  the  forms  of  the  verb,  appears  nevertheless  to  have  pre- 
served some  of  the  properties  of  the  noun  adjective.  A few, 
in  the  Choctaw,  have  a distinct  plural  form.  The  feminine 
gender  in  the  Onondago,  the  inanimate  or  animate  in  other 
languages,  are  distinguished  by  a varied  inflection.  The 
degrees  of  comparison  are  in  almost  every  language  expressed 
by  words,  corresponding  to  the  English  more  and  most,  prece- 
ding or  following  the  adjective. 

It  appears,  that  in  the  Onondago  language,  a distinction  is 
madm  between  the  adjectives  which  may,  and  those  which  do 
not  coalesce  with  the  substantive,  and  that,  when  thus  coales- 


* Father  Febre  says,  that  the  passive  voice,  in  the  language  of 
Chili,  is  formed  by  substituting  for  the  termination  of  the  active  (in  the 
first  person  of  the  present  indicative)  gen,  which  he  asserts  to  be  the 
substantive  verb  sum,  es  ; and,  in  another  place,  that  the  same  termina- 
tion gen,  meaning  existence,  added  to  an  adjective,  makes  the  noun 
substantive  of  abstract  qualities,  (corresponding  to  the  English  termina- 
tion ness.)  This  makes  an  exception,  as  to  the  passive  voice,  for  that 
language.  But  the  adjectives,  substantives,  and  even  proper  names  are, 
in  the  Chilian,  as  in  our  Indian  languages,  converted  into  intransitive 
verbs  and  conjugated  without  the  aid  of  gen,  or  of  any  other  analogous 
auxiliary  verb. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


177 


cing,  the  adjective  invariably  becomes  a verb  : eniage,  ‘ hand  ’ ; 
ostwi,  ‘ little  ’ ; eniastwi,  ‘ a little  hand  ’ ; wag  eniastwi,  ‘ my  hand 
is  little  ’ ; saniastwi,  [ thy  hand  is  little  ’ ; honiastwi,  ‘ his  hand  is 
little.’ 

It  will  be  perceived  that,  in  this  instance,  the  conjugation 
can  he  carried  through  all  the  tenses  and  moods,  but  only  in 
the  third  person  ; the  variations  of  hand  and  hands,  and  of 
my,  thy,  his,  our,  belonging  properly,  the  first  to  the  noun  and 
the  other  to  the  pronoun. 

The  notions  of  time  belong  properly  to  the  action  and  not  to 
the  object,  to  the  verb  and  not  to  the  nouns.  Yet  we  find,  con- 
trary to  the  universal  usage  amongst  our  own  languages,  in- 
flections, in  those  of  the  Indians,  of  nouns  and  adjectives 
denoting  time,  both  in  the  past  and  future  tenses.  Mr.  School- 
craft has  given  instances  of  it  in  the  Chippeway,  where  the 
termination,  bun,  added  to  a noun  proper,  indicates  that  the 
person  has  ceased  to  exist.  But  the  most  numerous  exam- 
ples, applying  both  to  adjectives  and  to  substantives,  are  found 
in  Father  Maynard’s  Notes  on  the  Micmac.  It  may  be,  that 
this  peculiarity  is  due  to  the  verbal  form,  so  easily  assumed  by 
nouns  of  every  description. 

This  process  of  conversion  is  reciprocal.  Verbs,  in  almost 
all  the  Indian  languages,  may  by  a small  varied  inflexion  be 
converted  into  nouns.  Both  verbs  and  adjectives  become 
substantives  in  the  Chippeway,  by  adding  to  them  the  termina- 
tion win.  The  same  result  is  obtained  in  the  Delaware  by  the 
termination  gan,  and  in  the  language  of  Chili  by  that  of  gen. 
This  termination  appears,  in  the  three  languages,  to  be  princi- 
pally used  for  the  purpose  of  forming  abstract  nouns  expressive 
of  qualities.  Thus  are  derived,  in  the  Chilian,  cumegen,  ‘ good- 
ness,’ from  cume,  ‘ good  ’ ; in  the  Delaware,  wulissowagan, 

‘ prettiness,’  from  wulisso,  ‘ pretty  ’ ; in  the  Chippeway,  minwai- 
dumowin,  ‘ happiness,’ from  minwaindum,  {he  (is)  happy.’ 

Of  Pronouns. 

Nouns  substantive  are  often  and  the  verbs  are  always  em- 
bodied, the  first  with  the  possessive,  the  other  with  the  per- 
sonal pronouns,  so  as  to  form  in  each  case  respectively  but  a 
single  word.  And  this  union  of  the  verb  includes  the  pronoun 
not  only  in  its  nominative  case,  or  as  agent  or  subject  of  the 

vol.  ii.  23 


178  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

action,  but  also  in  its  objective  case,  or  as  object  of  the  action. 
Thus  the  various  sentences  “ He  loves  me,”  “ I love  thee,” 
&lc.,  are  always  expressed  by  a single  word.  This  feature  is 
found  universally  in  every  American  language,  from  Greenland 
to  Cape  Horn,  which  has  been  investigated. 

John  Eliot  accordingly  commences  his  Grammar  with  an 
examination  of  the  pronoun ; “ because  of  the  common  and 
general  use  of  the  pronoun  to  be  affixed  with  both  nouns  and 
verbs  and  other  parts  of  speech,  and  that  in  the  formation  of 
them ; therefore,  that  is  the  first  part  of  speech  to  be  handled.” 
But  although  the  principle  is  the  same  in  all  the  Indian  lan- 
guages, it  has  been  applied  in  a different  manner  in  almost 
every  one  of  them.  Referring  for  further  details  to  the  Ap- 
pendix, we  will  give  here  only  some  general  notions  on  that 
part  of  speech. 

In  almost  all  the  Indian  languages,  there  is  an  intimate  con- 
nexion between  the  separate  personal  pronouns,  and  the 
personal  or  possessive  connected  with  the  verb  or  the  noun. 
An  exception  is  found  in  the  Cherokee,  where  the  pronouns  of 
the  first  and  second  person,  when  used  in  an  absolute  sense,  in 
answer  for  instance  to  a question,  (Who  has  done  it  ? I.)  differ 
from  those  united  with  the  verb ; but  these  are  the  same  with 
the  possessive  united  with  the  noun. 

In  conformity  with  what  has  already  been  said  of  the  dual 
and  plurals,  the  inflections  which  designate  the  number  affect 
particularly,  and  in  some  languages  exclusively,  the  pronouns ; 
varying,  for  the  dual  and  plural  and  for  their  subdivisions, 
according  to  the  nature  of  each  dialect.  The  only  exceptions 
are  found  in  the  third  person,  for  which  there  is  no  personal 
pronoun  in  the  Choctaw,  and  no  distinction  between  the  sin- 
gular and  plural  in  some  other  languages.  In  the  Sioux  also, 
the  general  termination  pee,  designates  alone  the  plural  in  many 
instances  ; and  the  plural  sign  te,  prefixed,  performs  the  same 
office  in  the  Cherokee  with  respect  to  the  objective  case  of 
the  pronoun. 

In  the  Eskimau  and  in  the  language  of  Chili,  the  personal 
pronouns  are  affixed  to  the  verb,  and  the  same  rule  applies,  in 
the  Eskimau,  to  the  possessive  pronoun  connected  with  the 
noun.  The  possessive  and  also  the  personal  pronoun,  both  in 
its  nominative  and  objective  case,  are  prefixed  to  the  noun  and 
to  the  verb  respectively,  in  the  Choctaw,  the  Sioux,  the  Chero- 
kee, and  apparently  the  Iroquois.  In  the  Muskhogee,  the  per- 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


179 


sonal  pronoun  in  the  nominative  case  is  affixed,  and  in  the 
objective  case  is  prefixed  to  the  verb.  In  the  Choctaw  the 
objective  case  is  always  clearly,  and  in  the  Muskhogee  and 
Sioux  generally,  distinguished  by  its  inflection  from  the  nomin- 
ative. Its  position  is  also  always  determined  in  the  Choctaw 
and  in  the  Eskimau. 

In  the  Algonkin-Lenape  languages,  the  two  plurals  of  the 
pronouns  are,  as  in  others,  distinguished  from  the  singular  and 
from  each  other  by  inflections  ; the  nominative  of  the  personal 
pronoun  connected  with  the  verb  is  not  distinguished  from  the 
objective  case  by  its  position ; and  the  particles  or  inflections 
by  which  that  object  is  effected,  as  well  as  the  terminating  in- 
flections which  denote  the  two  plurals,  both  in  the  possessive 
and  the  personal  pronouns,  are  separated  from  the  characteris- 
tics which  distinguish  the  several  persons.  These  character- 
istics are  prefixed,  and  the  other  inflections  are  affixed,  to  the 
verb  or  to  the  noun.  Both  are  very  similar  in  the  several 
languages  of  that  family. 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


Separate. 

Verbal. \ Posses.  ||  Separate. 

Verbal. 

1, 

nenn, 

noo,  n ; , we,  neenawun,  kena- 

noo — umun, 

thou , 

ken, 

koo,  k ; lye,  kenaau,  [wun,* 

koo — u mum  woo, 

he, 

noh,  nagum, 

oo,  1 w j 1 hliey,  nahoh,  nagau, 

umwog, 

Possessive. 
nu — anon, 
k — anoo, 
vv — anoo. 


DELAWARE. 


/,  ni, 
thou,  ki, 

he , neka,  nekema, 


n’  llwa,  niluna,  kiluna,* 

k*  \\you , kiluvva, 

w*  \\thcy,  nekamawa, 


In’ — neen,  fn’ — ena,  una, 

k’ — himo,  Ik’ — owa,  uwa, 

|\v’—  ewo,  wak,|w — wawall. 


Although  Mr.  Schoolcraft  was,  in  his  lectures  on  the  Cbip- 
peway,  treating  specially  of  the  noun  and  not  of  the  pronoun, 
the  examples  he  has  given  of  their  combination  are  the  most 
satisfactory  that  can  be  selected  in  reference  to  the  various  lan- 
guages of  that  family.  The  exclusive  or  special  plural  is  that 
which  excludes  the  person  spoken  to.  The  inclusive  or  in- 
definite includes  that  person  ; and  although  it  has,  for  that 
reason,  the  same  characteristic  (Zr)  as  the  second  person,  they 
are  distinguished  from  each  other  by  a different  termination. 
It  appears  that  the  syllable  oom,  which  is  susceptible  of  the 
variations  dm,  aim,  im,  eem,  om,  and  which  Mr.  Schoolcraft 
considers  as  the  distinctive  sign  of  the  possessive  pronoun,  is 


# Kenawun,  kiluna,  indefinite,  or  inclusive  pronoun  of  first  person. 


180 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


occasionally  dispensed  with ; but,  whether  at  the  option  of 
the  speaker,  or  according  to  some  fixed  rule,  is  not  explained. 


my, 

thy, 

our,  (excl.) 
our,  (incl.) 
your, 
his, 
their, 


Mol,  a moose. 

Os,  a father. 

ni  moz-oom, 

nos, 

ki  inoz-oom, 

kos, 

ni  moz-oominan, 

nos-inan, 

ki  rnoz-oominan, 

kos-inan, 

ki  moz-oomiwu, 

kos-iwa, 

o moz-oomun, 

os-un, 

o moz-oomiwan, 

os-iwan, 

Os-ug,  fathers, 
nos-ug, 
kos-ug, 
nos-inan-ig, 
kos-inan-ig, 
kos-iwa-g, 
os-un, 
os-iwan. 


It  is  obvious,  that  the  termination  ug,  or  ig,  which  desig- 
nates the  plural  of  the  noun,  is  the  only  inflection  of  that  part  of 
speech,  and  that  all  the  other  variations  are  the  inflections 
of  the  pronoun  and  not  of  the  noun.  It  could  hardly  at  first 
have  been  otherwise  in  the  formation  of  languages. 

When  we  say,  ‘ my  house,’  ‘ thy  house,’  ‘ his  house,’  ‘ our 
house,’  &c.,  the  object  which  we  designate  by  the  name,  house, 
remains  unchanged  ; and  the  variations  refer  only  to  the  person, 
or  to  the  number  of  persons,  who  own  the  house.  The  same 
observation  applies  to  the  combinations  of  the  verb  with  the 
pronoun.  The  variations  of  number  or  of  person  (first,  second, 
or  third),  either  as  agent,  or  as  object  of  the  action,  belong 
also  in  reality  to  the  pronoun  and  not  to  the  verb.  This  is  at 
once  seen  in  those  languages  where  the  amalgamation  has  not 
taken  place,  or  has  been  but  partially  adopted.  When,  in 
English,  we  say,  ‘ my  house,’  ‘ our  house,’  or,  ‘ I love,’  ‘ we  love,’ 
it  is  evident  that  our  and  we,  are  the  plural  of  my  and  I;  no 
one  will  presume  to  say  that  they  are  inflections  respectively 
of  the  noun  house,  and  of  the  verb  love. 

In  those  languages  where,  from  reasons  or  accidental  causes 
unknown  to  us,  the  principle  of  combination  has  been  adopted, 
it  would  seem,  that  an  amalgamation  of  the  entire  pronoun  with 
the  noun  or  verb,  so  as  to  concentrate  both  in  one  single  word, 
must  have  been  the  first  process,  at  least  so  far  as  relates  to 
the  first  and  second  persons  of  the  pronoun.  An  abbreviation 
of  the  pronoun  would  afterwards  be  substituted.  The  last 
process  must  have  been  the  substitution  of  an  arbitrary  letter, 
or  syllable,  in  which  there  was  no  longer  any  trace  of  affinity 
with  the  original  pronoun. 

It  might  indeed  be  supposed,  that,  inasmuch  as  such  nouns 
as  father  are  relative  and  have  no  real  existence  without  their 
correlative,  and  as  the  verbs,  such  as  love,  are  also  independent 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


181 


SECT.  VI.] 

of  the  subject  and  of  the  object  of  love,  a pure  abstraction ; 
the  expressions  my  father,  thy  father,  I love  thee,  &c.,  must 
have  preceded  the  invention  of  the  verbs,  nouns,  and  pronouns, 
in  their  respective  insulated  forms.  This  might  be  true  of 
pure  relative  nouns,  such  as , father-,  and  we  find  some  reasons 
for  thinking  that  it  was  so,  in  Father  Brebeufs  letter  and  in 
the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Heckewelder  answered  Mr.  Du  Pon- 
ceau’s inquiry  on  that  point.  The  question  might  be  doubtful 
with  respect  to  some  verbs.  But  it  seems  that  distinct  words, 
designating  the  first  and  second  persons  of  the  pronoun  must 
have  been  amongst  the  first  which  were  wanted  and  therefore 
invented  by  man.  At  first,  proper  names  alone  would  be  used. 
Adam  and  Eve  did  not  stand  in  need  of  pronouns.  Children, 
who  begin  to  speak,  generally  designate  themselves  at  first  by 
the  names  given  to  them,  and  only  after  a while  substitute  the 
pronoun  I.  But,  as  it  became  impossible  to  designate  every 
individual  by  a distinct  proper  name,  the  great  convenience,  if 
not  the  absolute  necessity,  of  words  designating  the  person 
speaking  and  that  spoken  to,  must  have  soon  become  apparent, 
and  have  produced  the  invention  of  such  words,  which,  when 
used  in  the  singular  number,  have  also  the  great  advantage  of 
precision.  And  we  may  here  take  notice  of  one  of  the  dis- 
tinguishing general  features  of  the  Indian  languages,  and  such 
a one  as  we  might  have  expected  to  find  in  them. 

It  must  have  been  the  primary  object  of  every  language  to 
designate  with  precision  every  object  and  every  action,  and 
every  modification  of  which  every  object  or  action  was  suscepti- 
ble. Specific  names  would  naturally  precede  generic  terms  ; 
and,  if  the  Indian  languages  are  often  deficient  in  these,  they 
abound  in  distinct  names  for  every  particular  species  of  tree, 
for  every  variety  of  age,  sex,  or  peculiarity,  in  certain  species 
of  animals,  and  in  degrees  of  consanguinity,  and  generally  for 
those  subdivisions  of  the  same  genus,  which  in  our  languages 
are  distinguished  by  attributes  which  qualify  the  generic  term. 
Thus,  instead  of  designating  the  several  species  of  oak  by  the 
names  of  white  oak,  black  oak,  swamp  oak,  &c.,  the  Indians 
have  a distinct  name  for  every  species,  and,  in  many  langua- 
ges, no  generic  term,  embracing  all  the  species  of  oak.*  And 


* There  are  some  exceptions ; and  even  these  show  the  gradual 
progress  of  language.  Uppe,  in  Choctaw,  means  trunk  or  stalk,  and  is 
often  used,  in  compound  words,  for  tree.  An  acorn  is  nusse ; all  oaks 
bear  acorns  ; JYussuppe  (the  acorn  tree)  is  the  Choctaw  word  for  the  oak. 


182  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

instead  of  discriminating  brothers  and  sisters,  uncles  and  aunts, 
&c.,  by  the  attributes  ‘elder,’  ‘younger,’  ‘ paternal,’  ‘ maternal,’ 
&c.,  they  have  also  distinct  names,  which  have  no  affinity  with 
those  expressive  of  those  qualifications,  for  ‘ elder  brother,’  ‘ youn- 
ger brother,’  ‘ paternal  uncle,’  ‘ maternal  uncle,’  &c.  In  the  same 
manner,  when  passing,  in  the  pronouns  of  the  two  first  persons, 
from  the  singular  to  the  plural,  instead  of  designating  this  by 
a general,  indefinite  expression,  the  Indians  have  all  resorted  to 
a dual,  or  to  a specific  definite  plural ; and,  in  some  languages, 
they  have  carefully  distinguished  the  several  species  of  dual, 
and  given  distinct  names  to  each  species,  in  the  Cherokee  and 
Iroquois,  for  instance,  to  thou  and.  I,  you  two,  &c.  The  ap- 
parent confusion  in  the  third  person,  the  want  of  a word  for  it 
in  some  languages,  and  its  occasional  omission  in  others,  may  be 
traced  to  the  same  cause  ; not  to  a want  of  precision,  but  to  the 
tendency  to  avoid  whatever  was  not  definite  and  precise.  The 
pronoun  of  that  person  is  in  its  nature  vague  and  indefinite,  a 
relative,  the  proper  use  of  which  depends  on  the  structure  of 
the  sentence  and  the  skill  of  the  speaker  or  writer.  If,  in  the 
Choctaw  language,  tokche  equally  means,  ‘ to  tie,’  ‘ he  ties,’ 
‘ he  ties  him,’  and  ‘ tie  him  ’ ; and  if  olda  tokche  means  both 
‘ he  ties  them  ’ and  ‘ they  tie  him,’  it  is  because,  in  fact,  the 
pronouns  he,  him,  they,  them,  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  lan- 
guage. The  proper  names  of  the  persons,  whether  subject  or 
object  of  the  action,  are  used  instead  of  a vague  pronoun, 
‘ John  ties  Peter,’  instead  of  ‘ he  ties  him.’  And  when  at 
last  the  necessity  of  a general  plural  expression  was  on  certain 
occasions  felt,  the  word  oTcla,  which  means  ‘ a multitude  of  men,’ 
‘ a people,’  ‘ a nation,’  was  adopted  as  a substitute  for  the 
pronoun  which  was  wanted.  The  third  person  singular  of  the 
verb  is  accordingly,  in  several  Indian  languages,  its  root,  or 
simplest  form. 

In  many  languages  of  the  other  continent,  the  process  by 
which  the  pronoun  was  incorporated  with  the  verb  has  reached 
its  last  stage.  Thus,  in  the  Latin,  where  it  has  not  been 
adopted  with  respect  either  to  the  possessive  or  to  the  objec- 
tive case  of  the  personal  pronoun,  but  only  in  the  combination 
of  the  nominative  case  of  that  pronoun  with  the  verb,  there 
does  not  remain  the  slightest  trace  of  affinity  between  the  ter- 
minations 5 and  t , which,  in  the  active  voice  of  all  the  verbs, 
are  the  signs  of  the  second  and  third  person  singular  respec- 
tively, and  the  separable  pronouns  of  those  two  persons.  Those 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


183 


and  other  similar  terminations,  in  their  present  shape,  appear 
and  are  considered  as  inflections  of  the  verb.  It  is  quite 
otherwise  in  the  Indian  languages.  In  all  of  them,  whether 
in  the  combination  of  the  possessive  pronoun  with  the  noun, 
or  in  both  the  simple  and  compound  conjugations,  the  separable 
pronoun  and  its  inflections,  though  generally  in  an  abbreviated 
form,  are  still  visible  ; and  the  possessive  pronoun  in  one  case, 
and  the  personal  pronoun  in  the  other,  are  almost  always  nearly 
identical.  There  are  undoubtedly  some  exceptions,  such  as  the 
first  personal  singular  in  the  Choctaw,  and  the  plural  termina- 
tion of  the  second  person  in  the  Delaware  ; and  the  division 
of  the  pronoun  into  two  parts,  in  the  Algonkin-Lenape  lan- 
guages, has  rendered  the  affinity  less  immediately  obvious. 
But  there  is  no  language,  or  dialect,  in  which  there  are  not 
still  evident  traces  of  the  original  pronouns,  and  of  which  it 
may  not  be  asserted,  that  in  all  the  combinations  alluded  to,  the 
inflections  of  number  and  person  are  those  of  the  pronoun,  and 
neither  of  the  noun  or  verb.  There  is  accordingly  but  little 
difficulty  in  the  declensions,  if  they  may  be  so  called,  of  the 
noun  and  possessive  pronoun  combined,  or  in  the  simple  conju- 
gations which  involve  with  the  verb  only  the  subject  of  the 
action,  or  nominative  case  of  the  pronoun,  provided  the  varia- 
tions of  which  the  pronoun  is  susceptible  be  previously  under- 
stood . 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that,  in  the  Sioux  language, 
the  plural  sign  pee  is  applicable  to  every  part  of  speech  ; 
and  that,  in  the  Cherokee,  the  corresponding  sign  te  is  used 
for  the  purpose  of  designating  the  plural  of  the  objective  case 
of  the  personal  pronouns.  In  several  of  the  languages,  such 
as  the  Algonkin-Lenape,  the  plural  is  formed  by  adding  a ter- 
mination to  the  singular  of  the  pronoun.  There  are  some  in 
which  that  plural,  especially  in  the  first  and  second  person,  is 
not  an  inflection,  but  a distinct  word  having  no  affinity  with  the 
singular.  We  find  the  same  feature  in  many  European  lan- 
guages : ego,  nos ; tu,  vos ; I,  we;  thou,  you;  &c. 

Transitions. 

The  complex  compound  conjugations  consist  in  the  amalga- 
mation of  the  verb  with  the  pronoun,  both  in  its  nominative 
case,  or  as  agent,  and  in  its  objective  case,  or  as  the  object  of 


184  a synopsis  or  the  Indian  tribes.  [introd. 

the  action.  As  the  passing  of  the  action,  from  the  agent  to  the 
object  in  which  it  terminates,  is  thus  expressed  by  a single 
word,  the  Spanish  authors  of  Indian  grammars  have  designated 
that  species  of  conjugation  by  the  name  of  transition.  It  is 
common  to  all  the  Indian  languages,  which  have  been  investi- 
gated. But,  although  the  character  is  common  to  all,  the  prin- 
ciple does  not  belong  exclusively  to  them.  That,  which  in 
that  respect  characterizes  them,  is  the  manner  in  which  the 
principle  has  been  applied,  and  which,  varying  greatly  in  the 
different  languages,  has  in  some  of  them  been  the  cause  of  those 
countless  inflections,  which  at  first  excited  the  wonder  of 
European  philologists.  Every  Hebrew  student  knows  that 
these  transitions  exist  in  that  language,  and  in  a form  so  simple, 
as  not  to  cause  him  any  great  embarrassment.  They  are 
founded  on  the  same  principle  as  in  the  Indian  languages. 
Abbreviations  of  the  inseparable  pronouns  become  respectively, 
pronouns  possessive  by  being  added  as  terminations  to  the  noun, 
and  the  objective  case  of  the  personal  pronoun  by  being  in  the 
same  manner  added  to  the  verb.  Other  distinct  abbreviations 
represent  the  nominative  case  of  the  same  pronoun  ; and  as,  in 
the  compound  conjugation,  the  abbreviated  form  of  the  pronoun 
in  the  objective  case  always  follows  that  in  the  nominative 
case,  and  there  are  also  distinctive  variations  between  the  sin- 
gular and  the  plural  of  each,  the  whole  process  unites  precision 
with  simplicity.  It  differs  no  otherwise  from  the  conjugation 
in  the  English  language,  so  far  as  pronouns  are  concerned, 
than  in  the  collocation  of  the  pronoun,  and  in  the  pronuncia- 
tion in  one  word  instead  of  three.  They  say,  lovlthee,  in 
one  word,  instead  of  I love  thee  in  three  words ; and  the 
number  of  inflections,  or  combinations  of  inflections,  required 
for  the  purpose,  is  the  same  with  that  of  the  words,  which  we 
use  in  order  to  attain  the  same  object,  (I,  thou , me,  thee,  we, 
us,  &c.) 

The  system  is  nearly  the  same  in  the  Choctaw.  The  fol- 
lowing table  exhibits  the  pronouns,  personal  separable  in  the 
first  column  ; united  with  verbs  in  the  nominative  case  in  the 
second ; possessive  united  with  the  nouns  designating  the  parts 
of  the  body,  and  used  also  (as  in  Hebrew)  as  the  objective 
case,  when  united  with  verbs. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


185 


I, 

thou, 

he, 

we,  (exc.  pi.) 
we,  (indef.  pi.) 
you, 
they, 


Separable. 

Inseparable. 

Personal  nominative . 

Personal  objective. 

unno, 

ille, 

sa,  SU, 
che,  chi, 

chishno, 

ish,  is, 

ipishno, 

huppishno, 

huchishno, 

e, 

eho, 

hush,  hus, 

pe,  pi, 
huppi, 
huchi, 

“ 1 

okla, 

okla, 

me, 

thee, 

him, 

us, 

us, 

you, 

them. 


All  the  pronouns,  in  the  nominative  case,  precede  the  verb, 
excepting  ille,  which  is  a termination.  The  rule  applies  equally 
to  the  simple  conjugation  and  to  the  transitions.  All  the  pro- 
nouns, in  the  objective  case,  are  placed,  in  the  transitions, 
immediately  before  the  verb  and  therefore  immediately  after 
the  pronoun  in  the  nominative,  with  the  exception  always  of 
the  first  person  in  the  nominative,  which  is  still  a termination : 
tokch,  ‘ he  ties  ’ ; tokchM,  ‘ 1 tie  ’ ; ishtokch,  ‘thou  tiest ,’  &c. 
Suttokch,  ‘he  ties  me’;  chittokchM,  ‘I  tie  thee’;  ishjnttokch, 

‘ thou  tiest  us  ’ ; (exc.  pi.),  &c. 

Those  two  rules  constitute  the  whole  system  of  the  Choctaw 
transitions  in  the  paradigm  of  the  verb  tokche,  ‘to  tie,’  and 
equally  apply  to  all  the  tenses  and  moods,  passive  voice,  and 
negative  form ; all  these  being  each  distinguished  by  the  inser- 
tion of  its  characteristic  particle,  but  without  interfering,  other- 
wise than  by  their  respective  collocation,  with  the  pronominal 
inflections.  It  is  not  stated,  whether  there  is  more  than  one 
conjugation  ; and,  where  this  depends  solely  on  the  inflections 
of  the  pronoun,  it  may  well  happen  that,  with  some  anomalies, 
there  is  but  one.  Such  is  found  to  be  the  case  in  the  language 
of  Chili,  where  the  system  of  transitions,  though  somewhat  more 
complex,  is  governed  by  uniform  rules  and  attains  a precision 
nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  Choctaw.  The  pronouns,  in  the 
noniinative  and  objective  cases,  are  placed  in  the  Choctaw  in 
the  same  order  as  in  the  French.  The  English  say,  thou  tiest 
me;  the  French  and  the  Choctaw,  tu  me  lies,  thou  me 
tiest. 

A peculiarity  in  that  language  deserves  notice.  An  inserted 
particle,  ull,  denotes  the  passive  voice  ; but  the  personal  pro- 
noun, instead  of  being  as  in  our  languages  in  the  nominative,  is 
in  the  Choctaw  in  the  objective  case.  Instead  of  saying,  ‘ I (am) 
tied,’  ‘ tullokchille,’  they  say,  ‘me  (am)  tied,’  ‘ SMttuZ/okche.’ 
The  same  rule  applies  to  all  those  intransitive  verbs  which  we 

vol.  ii.  24 


186 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


express  by  ‘ I am,’  and  to  all  those,  such  as,  ‘ I sleep,’  ‘swnnusse’ ; 
‘ I die,’  £ sidle  ’ ; in  which  the  person  appears  to  be  the  object 
of  the  action,  rather  than  an  active  agent.*  But  when  action 
is  implied  in  the  intransitive  verb,  the  pronoun  is  put  in  the 
nominative  case  : ‘ I sing,’  ‘ taloa lie ; ’ ‘ I came,’  ‘ mintiZZetokok.’ 
If  we  now  turn  to  the  numerous  paradigms  of  the  simple 
conjugations  in  Zeisberger’s  Grammar  of  the  Delaware,  amongst 
those  anomalies,  which  compelled  him  to  class  the  verb  into 
eight  conjugations,  and  many  other  even  in  verbs  of  the  same 
conjugation,  we  find  upon  the  whole  a great  uniformity  and 
regularity,  and  also  sufficient  evidence  that  the  inflections  belong 
to  the  pronoun.  The  initial  characteristics  of  the  three  per- 
sons, which  precede  the  root  of  the  verb,  are  generally  pre- 
served in  the  indicative  mood  ; the  principal  exception  being 
found  in  the  frequent  omission  of  the  characteristic  of  the  third 
person,  sometimes  accompanied  by  a change  of  the  termination 
into  u,  or  eu.  The  plural  termination  of  the  first  person  eneen, 
or  hena,  is  derived  from  that  of  the  possessive  pronoun  ena,  or 
of  the  separable  una,  both  allied  to  the  Chippeway  termination 
inan.  The  plural  termination  of  the  third  person,  wak,  or  ewo, 
is  likewise  derived  from  that  of  the  separable  pronoun  wa.  But 
the  connexion  between  the  separable  pronoun  and  its  termina- 
tion when  united  with  the  verb  is  lost  in  the  second  person 
plural,  which  in  the  last  case  ends  always  in  himo,  or  humo. 
Referring  to  the  tables  in  the  Appendix  for  details,  the  follow- 
ing examples  of  the  present  tense  of  the  indicative  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  explain  what  precedes. 


Infinitive. 

To  eat. 
mitzin, 

To  he  happy. 
wulamulsin, 

I, 

n’mitzi, 

n’ulamalsi, 

thou. 

k’mitzi, 

k’ulamalsi, 

he, 

mitzu, 

w’ulamalsi, 
n’ulamalsi  hena, 

we. 

n’mitzi  neen, 

ye, 

k’mitzi  himo, 

k’ulamalsi  himo, 

they, 

mitzo  wak, 

w’ulamalso  wak, 

To  hear. 
pendamen, 
n’pendamen, 
k’pendamen, 
pendamen, 
n’pendamen  een, 
k’pendam  ohumo, 
pendamen  ewo. 


But,  if  we  pass  to  the  transitions,  we  find  a multitude  of 
varied  terminations,  for  which  it  appears  extremely  difficult  to 
find  any  general  rules.  There  is  however  one  respecting  the 
initial  characteristic,  which  at  once  strikes  the  eye.  It  has 


* The  same  principle  is  found  in  the  passive  form  of  Latin  deponent 
(neuter)  verbs. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


187 


been  seen,  that,  in  the  Hebrew,  in  our  modern  languages,  and 
in  the  Choctaw,  the  pronoun,  in  the  nominative,  is  always  distin- 
guished from  that  in  the  objective  case  by  their  relative 
position.  That  fundamental  and  essential  principle  has  been 
entirely  neglected  in  the  Delaware,  and  probably  in  all  the 
other  languages  of  the  same  family.  Instead  of  this,  it  will  be 
found,  that  a preference  has  been  given,  in  the  first  place,  to  the 
second,  and  in  the  next  to  the  first  person.  When  the  second 
person  occurs  in  the  transition,  whether  in  the  nominative,  or 
in  the  objective  case,  we  find  its  characteristic  k placed  before 
the  verb.  Whenever  the  transition  is  from  the  first  to  the 
third,  or  from  the  third  to  the  first  person,  the  n,  characteristic 
of  the  first  is,  in  like  manner,  placed  before  the  verb,  whether 
that  person  be  the  agent,  or  the  object  of  the  action.  When 
the  action  passes  from  one  third  to  another  third  person,  its 
initial  characteristic  w is  placed  before  the  verb,  or  is  omitted 
altogether.*  It  thence  follows,  that  the  termination,  placed 
after  the  root  of  the  verb,  must  perform  the  various  offices  of 
distinguishing,  which  of  the  two  pronouns  is  in  the  nominative 
or  objective  case  ; whether  both,  or,  if  only  one,  which  of  the 
two  is  in  the  plural ; and,  whenever  the  second  is  one  of  the 
persons  concerned,  that  is  to  say  in  sixteen  cases  out  of  twenty- 
eight,  whether  the  other  pronoun  is  of  the  first  or  third  person. 
To  distinguish  with  precision  all  the  various  combinations, 
resulting  from  those  several  offices,  requires  twenty-eight  dis- 
tinct, different  terminations  for  each  tense.  The  Choctaw 
requires  but  twelve,  in  the  same  manner  as,  in  English,  twelve 
words  are  sufficient  in  order  to  effect  the  same  purpose  ; and 
these  run  regularly  through  all  the  tenses  and  moods  of  the 
verb,  whilst  numerous  discrepancies  are  found  in  that  respect  in 
the  Delaware. 

The  comparative  simplicity  of  the  Hebrew,  of  the  English, 
and  of  the  Choctaw  rests  on  three  principles,  neither  of  which 
has  been  observed  in  the  Delaware  ; the  regular  relative  posi- 
tion assigned  to  the  pronouns  in  the  nominative  and  objective 
case ; the  distinct  designation  by  which  the  objective  is  always 
distinguished  from  the  nominative  case  of  the  pronoun ; and  a 

* There  are  a few  anomalies,  some  only  in  appearance,  such  as 
k'milgneen,  ‘ they  give  to  us,’  in  which  the  k designates  the  indefinite  plu- 
ral. But  the  rule  may  be  considered  as  general.  No  exception  to  it  is 
found  in  the  paradigms  of  the  Massachusetts  conjugations  in  Eliot’g 
Grammar, 


188 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


similar  distinction  for  the  plural.  And  the  Delaware  conjuga- 
tions are  rendered  still  more  complex,  by  the  transfer  of  the 
plural  termination  of  the  pronoun,  which  has  separated  it  from 
its  initial  characteristic. 

This  example  shows  how  men,  though  setting  off  upon  the 
same  principle,  may,  by  pursuing  different  routes  in  its  applica- 
tion, impress  a different  character  on  their  respective  languages. 
Yet  the  preference  given  by  the  Algonkin  nations  to  the  second 
and,  next  to  it,  to  the  first  person,  though  unfortunate  in  its 
consequences  was  very  natural.  In  an  oral  language,  there 
are  always  two  parties,  the  person  who  speaks,  and  the  person 
or  persons  whom  he  addresses.  When  speaking  of  the  person 
spoken  to  in  connexion  either  with  himself  or  with  a third 
person,  the  person  thus  addressed  is  generally  the  most  prom- 
inent in  the  mind  of  the  speaker;  and  on  that  account,  or  from 
courtesy,  he  will  be  named  first,  without  regarding  the  distinc- 
tion, whether  he  be  the  agent  or  the  object  of  the  action.  The 
Delaware  may  very  naturally  have  said,  ‘ thee  I love,’  ‘ thee 
he  has  insulted.’  When  speaking  of  himself  in  connexion  with 
a third  person,  he  becomes  the  most  important  party. 

May  we  not  also  trace  to  an  exclusively  oral  language,  com- 
bined with  the  habit  of  public  speaking,  the  special  plural  of 
the  Indians,  as  well  as  the  different  manner  in  which  it  appears 
to  be  applied  ? According  to  Mr.  Heckewelder,  the  Dela- 
wares deliberating  in  council,  on  a question  of  war  or  peace, 
say  ‘ we,’  meaning  all  of  us  here  present,  our  nation,  as  contra- 
distinguished from  any  other  body  of  men,  or  nation.  Accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  the  Chippeway,  addressing  another 
person  in  behalf  of  himself  and  some  others,  will,  in  saying, 

‘ we,’  exclude  the  person  to  whom  he  speaks.  And  thus 
gradually  the  special  plural  may  have  been  modified,  and  have 
received  a different  signification  in  the  two  languages. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  number  of  varied  inflections  in  the 
transitions  of  the  Algonkin  conjugations,  and  the  numerous 
apparent  anomalies  in  the  several  tenses  and  moods,  they  still 
exhibit  a degree  of  uniformity  which  had  its  origin  in  analogy; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  rules  of  their  formation, 
though  not  very  obvious,  may  be  deduced  from  the  paradigms 
collected  by  Zeisberger  and  others.  It  is  not  intended  to  inti- 
mate, that  the  language  was  formed  according  to  any  such 
preconcerted  rules  ; but  only  that  analogy  has  necessarily  pro- 
duced that  uniformity,  which  renders  it  practicable  to  deduce 
the  rules  from  the  language. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


189 


The  characteristic  letter  or  syllable  which  precedes  the  root  of 
the  verb  designates  only,  when  it  is  k’,  that  one  of  the  two 
pronouns  is  that  of  the  second  person;  when  it  is  n\  that  the 
two  pronouns  are  those  of  the  first  and  third  person ; when  it 
is  w’,  that  both  pronouns  are  in  the  third  person.  The  ter- 
mination must  show,  in  the  first  case,  to  what  person  the  other 
pronoun  belongs  ; in  every  case,  which  of  the  two  pronouns 
is  in  the  objective  case ; and  that  termination  must  also  desig- 
nate, when  required,  whether  one,  or  both,  and,  if  only  one, 
which  of  the  two  pronouns  is  in  the  plural  number.  If  there- 
fore, we  select  those  transitions  only,  in  which  the  action  passes 
from  a person  in  the  singular  number  to  another  person  also  in 
the  singular,  the  termination,  not  being  encumbered  with  the 
varied  signs  of  the  plural  or  plurals,  must  only  show  in  what 
manner  the  pronoun,  when  unknown,  is  discovered,  and  which 
of  the  two  is  in  the  objective  case. 

There  are  in  each  tense  seven  such  transitions  from  the  sin- 
gular to  the  singular  ; and  the  table,  in  the  Appendix,  of  the 
transitions  of  the  present  of  the  indicative  of  the  five  Dela- 
ware paradigms  given  by  Zeisberger,  shows,  that  when  the 
action  passes  from  the  first  or  second  person  singular  to  the 
third  person  singular,  a particle,  viz.  a,  an,  awa,  or  awan  is 
inserted  immediately  after  the  root,  or  unchangeable  part  of  the 
verb  ; when  the  action  passes  from  the  third  singular  to  the 
first  or  second  person  singular,  the  particle  inserted  is  uk,  ag> 
or  agun  ; when  the  action  passes  from  the  first  to  the  second 
person  singular,  the  particle  is  ell  or  olen  ; and  when  the  action 
passes  from  the  second  to  the  first  person  singular,  the  particle 
is  i,  or  awi.  The  four  characteristic  letters  used  in  the  four 
cases  respectively  are  a,  or  iva ; g,  or  k ; l ; and  i ; the  other 
sounds  or  letters  aw,  un,  &c.,  varying  according  to  euphony  or 
usage.  Those  letters  or  sounds  stand  respectively ; a or  wa 
for  him  ; g,  k for  he  ; l for  1 ; i for  me.  And  combined  with 
the  initial  characteristics  k’,  ?c’,  (the  last  often  omit- 
ted,) they  are  sufficient  to  designate  with  precision  the  two 
pronouns  involved  in  each  transition,  and  which  of  them  is  in 
the  objective  case.  When  the  action  passes  from  one  third  to 
another  third  person  singular,  although  this  might  be  deemed 
the  simplest  case,  it  presents  in  our  five  paradigms  more  varie- 
ties than  any  other  case.  They  are  as  follows. 


190 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


Second  pers.  sing.  Imperative. 


Third  pers.  sing,  transition  to  third  pers.  sing. 


Give  thou, 

mil. 

he  gives  him, 

milan,  milgol,  milawal 
petagol, 

bring  “ 

petol, 

he  brings  him. 

hear  “ 

penda, 

he  hears  him, 

pendagol, 

love  “ 

ahoal, 

he  loves  him, 

w’dahoalawall. 

say  “ 

ill, 

he  says  to  him, 

w’dell  gun,  w’dell  ak. 

A single  example  will  be  sufficient  to  illustrate  the  rules  for 
the  six  other  transitions  : 


I give  him, 
thou  givest  him, 

She  gives  me, 
he  gives  thee, 

I give  thee, 
thou  givest  me, 


n’mil  an,  (him,) 
k’mil  an,  (him,) 
n’mil  uk,  (he,) 
k’mil  uk,  (he,) 
k’mil  ell,  (/,) 
k’mil  i,  (me.) 


With  each  of  these  seven  transitions  from  the  singular  to 
the  singular,  three  others  are  connected,  in  which  either  one  or 
the  other,  or  both  the  pronouns  are  in  the  plural  number. 
Thus  we  have,  I give  him,  1 give  them,  They  give  me,  Tltey 
give  us ; and  so  on  for  each  of  the  seven  primitive  transitions. 
The  terminations  added  to  these  primitive  transitions  designate 
therefore,  whether  one  or  both  the  pronouns  are  in  the  plural, 
and,  if  only  one,  which  of  the  two.  This  is  effected  with 
great  precision  for  every  case,  so  as  to  prevent  any  confusion  or 
ambiguity  ; but  it  is  difficult  to  reduce  those  final  terminations 
to  uniform  rules.  The  following  table,  subject  to  several  ex- 
ceptions and  anomalies,  shows  the  most  usual  or  general  of 
those  plural  terminations. 


me. 

thee. 

him. 

us. 

you. 

them. 

he, 

na, 

wa, 

wak, 

I,  thou, 

neen, 

himo, 

wak, 

they, 

$ e> 

( ewo, 

e, 

ewo, 

ewo, 

neen, 

himo, 

wawak, 

ye, 

himo, 

ewo, 

hena, 

wawak, 

we. 

neen, 

neen, 

hena, 

wavvuna. 

These  plural  terminations,  which  are  nearly  the  same  with 
those  of  the  simple  conjugation,  combined  with  the  four  inserted 
particles  a,  g,  l,  i,  and  with  the  three  initial  characteristics  n, 
Tc,  w,  constitute  the  twenty-eight  personal  forms  or  transitions 
of  the  present  of  the  indicative  ; and  united,  though  not  with 
perfect  uniformity,  with  the  particles  ep,  up,  and  tsh,  which  are 
the  respective  signs  of  the  preterite  and  future  tenses,  they 
also  form  the  twenty-eight  transitions  of  each  of  those  tenses 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


191 


in  the  indicative  mood.  But  an  entirely  different  plan  has 
prevailed  in  the  subjunctive,  or,  as  Eliot  calls  it,  the  supposi- 
tive mood,  which  is  rendered  into  English  by  if  or  when. 
The  initial  characteristics  of  the  pronouns  are,  in  that  mood, 
almost  always  omitted  ; and  the  following  examples  of  the 
simple  conjugation  and  of  the  seven  primitive  transitions  (from 
a singular  to  another  singular  person)  will  show  how  their 
place  is  supplied : 


Jlhoalan,  to  love.  1 

I/uen,  to  say. 

If  I love, 

ahoal  ak, 

luey  a, 

if  thou  lovest, 

ahoal  anne, 

luey  anne, 

if  he  loves, 

ahoal  at, 
ahoal  enk, 

lue  te, 

if  we  love, 

luey  enk, 

if  ye  love, 

ahoal  eque, 

luey  ek. 

if  they  love, 

ahoal  akhtit, 

lue  khtit. 

If,  when, 

he  loves  him, 

ahoal  ate, 

1 ate, 

I love  him, 
thou  lovest  him, 

ahoal  akhte, 

1 ake, 

k’d  ahoal  anne, 

1 at  panne, 

he  loves  me, 

ahoal  ite, 

1 ite, 

he  loves  thee, 

ahoal  quonne, 

1 uk  quonne, 

I love  thee, 

ahoal  anne, 

lei  lanne, 

thou  lovest  me, 

ahoal  iyanne, 

1 iyanne. 

We  find,  in  the  two  last  transitions,  the  characteristics,  l,  and 
i,  indicative  of  the  action  passing  from  the  first  to  the  second 
and  from  the  second  to  the  first  person,  but  little  affinity  with 
the  original  pronouns.  The  plural  terminations  are  diversified, 
enk,  enkwe,  yenk,  yenkwe,  ank,  awank,  kwek,  kwenk , akhtite, 
&lc.,  apparently  with  the  general  plural  sign,  but  with  difficulty 
reducible  to  general  rules.  The  simple  conjugation  and  the 
transitions  in  the  singular  number  are  very  uniform,  but  dis- 
similar, in  reference  to  the  pronouns,  from  those  of  the  indica- 
tive mood.  Eliot’s  paradigm  shows,  that  his  suppositive  mood 
was,  in  the  Massachusetts  language,  of  the  same  character  with 
the  Delaware  subjunctive. 

It  appears  extraordinary,  that  there  should  be,  for  the  moods 
of  the  same  verb,  two  systems  of  conjugation  so  entirely  dif- 
fering from  each  other  ; that  for  the  indicative  founded  on  the 
inflections  of  the  common  pronouns,  and  that  of  the  subjunc- 
tive without  any  apparent  affinity  with  these,  or  with  the  in- 
dicative. 

In  the  subjunctive  of  our  languages,  the  verb  is  governed  by 
a separate  conjunction,  which  requires  a varied  inflection  in  the 


192 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTIiOD. 


verb.  But  the  corresponding  Indian  mood  embraces  the  con- 
junction, and  concentrates  in  a single  word  the  verb,  the  pro- 
noun or  pronouns,  and  the  conjunction  expressed  or  implied. 
Zeisberger  says,  that  conditional  conjunctions,  such  as  ane  and 
appane  are  thus  compounded  with  the  verb  in  that  mood.  And 
in  his  list  of  particles,  we  find  ank,  ‘ when  ’ ; eet,  ‘ perhaps.’ 
The  coincidence  of  those  with  the  terminations  ak,  ank,  anne, 
it,  at,  of  the  singular  subjunctive,  might  therefore  sustain  the 
conjecture,  that  that  mood  was  derived  from  the  incorporation 
of  those  conjunctions  with  the  verb.  But  Mr.  Schoolcraft  has 
pointed  out  certain  possessive  pronouns,  differing  from  those  in 
general  use,  to  which  1 think  it  more  probable  that  we  can 
trace  the  formation  of  the  subjunctive  mood. 

He  designates  these  possessive  pronouns  as  “ pronominal 
suffixes,”  which  supply  the  ordinary  distinctions  of  persons, 
and  are  used  in  connexion  with  a certain  class  of  substantives 
descriptive  of  country  and  place  ; and  he  has  given  the  follow- 
ing example  of  the  union  of  the  possessive  pronoun  of  that 
species  with  the  word  home,  which  may  be  compared  with  the 
subjunctive  of  the  simple  Delaware  conjugation. 


Mij  home, 
thy  “ 
his  “ 
our  “ 
our  “ 
your  “ 
their  “ 


Chippeivay. 

Delaicare. 

ainda-yan, 

lue-ya, 

ainda-yun, 

lue-yanne, 

ainda-d, 

lue-te, 

ainda-yang,  ) 
ainda-yung,  ) 

lue-yenk, 

ainda  yaig, 

lue-yek, 

ainda-wad, 

lue-ktit, 

If  I say, 
“ thou  “ 

“ he  “ 

“ we  “ 

“ ye  “ 

“ they  11 


Allowing  for  the  usual  permutations  of  g and  k,  and  of  d 
and  t,  and  considering  that  the  comparison  is  instituted  be- 
tween two  distinct  languages  though  of  the  same  family,  the 
similarity  of  the  pronominal  Chippeway  suffixes,  with  the 
Delaware  subjunctive  terminations,  is  so  striking,  that  it  is 
hardly  possible  that  they  should  not  have  had  a common  origin. 
But  why  there  were  two  distinct  sets  of  pronouns,  and  why 
this  was  adopted  for  the  subjunctive  mood,  remains  unexplained. 

Amongst  the  various  forms  of  which  the  verbs  are  suscepti- 
ble, some  are  mentioned  by  Zeisberger,  which  are  conjugated, 
in  the  indicative,  in  a manner  analogous  to  the  conjugation  of 
the  subjunctive  ; such  as, 


To  be  or  stay  there , 
to  go , 

to  be , or  do,  so , 
to  say , 


achpin,  achpiya; 
aan,  aano ; 

lissin,  lissiye : 
luen,  lueya; 


where  I stay,  epia,  epianne,  &c. 

where  I go,  eyaya,  eyayanne,  &c. 

as  I am,  ox  do,  elsiya,  elsiyanne,  &c. 

what,  (ox  as)  Isay,  eloweya,  eloweyanne,  &c. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


193 


But  those  forms  are  generally  conjugated  in  all  their  moods 
as  the  primitive  verb.  This  appears  to  be  the  case  with  the 
causative  form,  generally  designated  by  the  conversion  of  the 
infinitive  termination  into  owen,  or  sheen ; and  also  in  verbs 
compounded  with  prepositions.  Thus  the  verb  witeen,  from 
aan  ‘to  go,’  and  witschi,  ‘with,’  (Zeisberger,  page  246)  is  con- 
jugated as  its  primitive. 


N'da, 

K’da, 

en, 

1 N’daneen,  &c. 

N’vvitt, 

K’witt, 

witt  eu, 

N'witteneeu,  &c. 

The  Muskhogee  pronouns  in  the  singular  and  in  the  first 
person  plural  of  the  objective  case  have  a great  affinity  with 
those  of  the  Choctaw.  In  the  specimens  of  its  transitions,  it 
will  be  seen  that  a common  termination  ist  occurs  throughout, 
the  meaning  of  which  is  not  understood.  The  objective  case 
of  the  pronoun  precedes,  and  the  nominative  case  follows,  the 
root  of  the  verb.  In  other  respects  they  would  not  materially 
differ  from  the  Choctaw  system,  were  it  not  that  the  Muskhogee 
appears  to  want  distinctive  signs  for  the  dual  and  plural  of  the 
second  person.  They  substitute  for  those,  with  some  varied 
terminations,  the  words  hokolyn,  from  holcko,  which  means 
‘ two,’  and  homulgyon  from  omuiga,  ‘ a multitude.’  When  those 
two  substitutes  occur  together,  and  are  united  with  the  verb 
and  its  two  pronouns,  they  appear  rather  as  three  distinct 
words,  than  as  a concentrated  transition. 

The  Cherokee  transitions  are  less  complex  than  those  of 
the  Delaware,  though  not  so  simple  as  in  the  Choctaw.  The 
two  pronouns  in  the  nominative  and  objective  case  always 
precede  the  root  of  the  verb,  leaving  no  doubt  that  the  inflec- 
tions of  person,  number,  and  case  are  those  of  the  pronoun,  and 
not  at  all  of  the  verb.  The  usual  sign  of  the  plural,  te,  pre- 
fixed, uniformly  indicates  that  the  objective  pronoun  is  in  the 
plural.  The  pronouns  themselves  are  principally  the  same 
as  those  used  as  possessive,  either  entire  or  in  an  abbreviated 
form.  St  is  the  sign  of  the  dual,  and  ts  of  the  plural  for  both, 
particularly  in  the  second  person.  Awgin  designates  ‘him’  and 
‘ me,’  and  gin,  ‘ thee  ’ and  ‘ me,’  both  in  the  transitions,  and  as 
possessive  when  united  to  the  noun.  The  signs  ski,  skiya,  skina, 
distinguish  the  second  person  in  the  nominative  case,  according 
to  certain  fixed  rules.  But  that,  by  which  the  pronouns,  in 
the  nominative  and  in  the  objective  case,  are  distinguished  from 
each  other,  is  not  apparent  in  every  instance, 
vol.  ii.  25 


194 


A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


In  the  conjugations, of  the  language  of  Chili,  the  pronouns 
in  an  abbreviated  form  are  always  placed  after  the  verb. 
They  vary  according  to  the  mood,  and,  both  in  the  indicative 
and  subjunctive,  amount  to  nine,  distinguishing  the  singular, 
dual,  and  plural  in  each  person,  as  follows  : 


Indicative. 


Singular, 

Dual, 

Plural, 


1 First  Person. 

Second  Person. 

n, 

ymi, 

yu> 

ymu, 

1 in 

yinn, 

Third  Person. 

y> 

ygu. 

ygn- 


All  these  pronouns  are  preserved  in  the  transitions,  and 
occupy  the  same  place  as  in  the  simple  conjugation  ; and  the 
other  pronoun  is  expressed  by  the  insertion  of  a particle,  which 
is  not  derived  from  any  pronoun.  Those  transitions  are,  in 
conformity  to  the  genius  of  the  language,  classed  according  to 
the  person  in  whom  the  action  terminates.  The  first  transition 
is  that  in  which  the  action  passes  from  any  one  person  to  the 
same  individual  person,  and  consists  therefore  of  the  reflected 
verbs.  The  second  transition  is  that,  in  which  the  action 
passes  from  any  of  the  three  persons  to  the  third  person.  The 
last  four  transitions  are  those,  in  which  the  action  terminates  in 
the  first,  or  in  the  second  person. 

In  the  first  two  transitions,  the  nine  pronouns  contained  in 
the  table  represent  the  nominative  case  ; and  the  pronoun  in 
the  objective  case  is  represented  by  the  insertion  of  u for  the 
first  transition,  and  of  vi  for  the  second,  immediately  before  the 
termination  expressive  of  the  acting  pronoun.  In  the  second 
transition,  the  terminations  egu,  and  egn  are  respectively  added 
at  the  end  of  the  word,  when  the  pronoun  in  the  third  person, 
in  whom  the  action  terminates,  is  either  in  the  dual  or  plural 
number. 

In  the  last  four  transitions,  the  nine  pronouns  contained  in 
the  table  represent  the  objective  case,  or  that  in  which  the 
action  terminates.  The  particles  e and  mo,  the  first  always 
placed  before  one  of  the  said  nine  pronouns,  the  second  some- 
times substituted  for  it,  in  other  cases  added  as  a termination  of 
one  of  the  nine  pronouns,  represent  the  pronoun  in  the  nomina- 
tive case.  But  the  various  positions  of  these  two  particles,  e 
and  mo,  are  not  sufficient  to  distinguish  in  every  case,  whether 
that  pronoun  is  in  the  singular  or  plural,  or  indeed  to  which 
person  it  belongs  ; and  when  the  action  passes  from  the  first 
person,  in  the  dual  or  plural  number,  to  the  second  person,  it 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


195 


is  necessary,  in  order  to  prevent  confusion,  to  resort  to  a form 
derived  from  the  first  transition. 

Some  cases  remain,  in  which  the  same  form  expresses  two 
or  more  distinct  combinations  of  the  pronouns  in  the  nomina- 
tive and  objective  case;  such  as  I-thee  and  he-thee ; thou-me 
and  he-me.  The  confusion  falls  generally  as  usual  on  the 
third  person:  and,  upon  the  whole,  the  plan  is  inferior  to  that 
of  the  Choctaw,  both  in  simplicity  and  precision. 

The  simple  conjugations  and  the  transitions  of  the  Sioux 
consist  altogether  of  combinations  of  the  pronouns  with  the 
root  of  the  verb.  They  always  precede  it;  but  the  general 
sign  of  the  plural,  pee,  is  affixed  as  a final  termination  when- 
ever either  of  the  pronouns  or  both  are  in  the  plural  number. 
It  seems,  that  in  the  two  first  persons  singular  the  objective  case 
of  the  pronoun  is  distinguished  from  the  nominative,  and  the 
plural  from  the  singular  in  the  nominative  of  the  first  and  in 
the  objective  case  of  the  third  person  : ‘ I,’  wah  ; ‘me,’  mah\ 
‘ we,’  ‘ us,’  oan ; ‘ them,’  weetsha ‘ thou,’  £ ye,’  eeah ; ‘ thee,’ 
1 you,’  nee.  The  plan  is  extremely  simple  ; but  the  apparent 
want  of  distinction  between  the  nominative  and  objective  case, 
in  the  plural  of  the  first,  and  in  the  plural  and  singular  of  the 
second  person,  produces  ambiguity  in  some  instances.  Thus 
nee  tsheeng  pee  means  equally,  ‘he  loves  you,’  ‘ they  love  thee,’ 

‘ they  love  you  ’ ; and  oan  tsheeng  pee,  ‘ we  love  thee,’  ‘ we  love 
you,’  ‘he  loves  us.’  We  have  however  too  few  paradigms  of 
the  verbs  of  the  Sioux  languages  to  form  a definitive  opinion. 

The  information  respecting  the  Iroquois  languages  is  still 
more  incomplete.  We  have  no  paradigms  of  their  transitions. 
It  appears  from  those  of  the  simple  conjugation  of  the  Ononda- 
go,  given  by  Zeisberger,  that  it  is  founded,  both  in  the  active 
and  passive  voice,  on  pronominal  inflections,  that  the  pronouns 
are  always  prefixed  to  the  root  of  the  verb,  and  that  there  are 
several  varieties  of  pronouns  for  each  person.  This  last  fea- 
ture is  peculiar  to  the  languages  of  that  family  ; and  it  seems 
probable,  that  the  selection  depends  on  the  termination  of  the 
verb. 

Egede’s  Grammar  of  the  Eskitnau,  which  is  said  to  give  full 
information  respecting  that  language,  could  not  be  obtained  ; 
and  the  paradigm  inserted  in  his  account  of  Greenland  is  only 
the  present  indicative  of  the  verb  “ I wash.”  It  is,  however, 


* Apparently  abbreviated  from  weetshashiah,  ‘ man.’ 


196 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


certain,  that  the  separate  pronouns  are  distinguished  from  each 
other  in  the  three  numbers  ; that  they  are  used  in  an  abbre- 
viated form  in  the  simple  conjugations  and  in  the  transitions  ; 
and  that  they  are  always  affixed  to  the  verb,  as  well  as  to  the 
noun.  The  objective  case  of  the  personal  is  said  to  be  identic 
with  the  possessive  pronoun. 


Separate. 

Abbreviations. 

wash  self,  selves, 

wash  him. 

/, 

unga, 

Nomin. 

nga, 

guk, 

Object.,  Possess, 
ga,  ra, 

/, 

ermikp  unga, 
“ oguk, 

ermikp  ara, 
“ arpuk, 

we  two, 

uaguk, 

puk,  guk,  vuk, 

we  two, 

we , 

uagut, 

gut, 

put,  gut,  vut, 

we, 

“ ogut, 

“ arput, 

thou , 

iblit, 

iliptik. 

tit, 

et,  it,  t, 

thou, 

“ otit, 

“ et, 

ye  tioo 

tik, 

tik,  sik, 

ye  tioo, 

“ otili, 

“ artik, 

ye, 

ilipse, 

se, 

till,  se, 

ye, 

“ ose, 

“ arse, 

he, 

una, 

k,  au, 

ne,  me,  a,  at, 

he, 

“ ok, 

“ a> 

they, 

okko, 

uk,  ut, 

aet, 

they, 

“ ut, 

“ aek. 

It  appears  from  all  the  information  we  possess  on  the  subject, 
that  all  the  inflections  of  person  and  number,  which  are  found 
in  the  Indian  languages,  connected  with  the  verb,  are  in  reality, 
as  from  their  nature  they  might  be  expected  to  be  in  primitive 
oral  inflected  languages,  the  inflections  of  the  pronoun  and  not 
of  the  verb.  If,  considering  the  limits  of  this  essay,  more 
space  has  been  allowed  to  this  branch  of  the  subject  than  may 
appear  necessary,  it  is  because  it  was  the  only  one,  respecting 
which  the  materials  within  our  reach  were  sufficiently  ample, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  reducing  it  to  rules,  and  of  instituting 
a comparison  between  the  several  modes  which  nations,  that 
had  adopted  the  same  principle,  have  pursued  in  the  applica- 
tion of  that  principle.  It  must  also  be  recollected,  that  nine 
tenths,  at  least,  of  the  several  hundred  inflections  found  in  the 
conjugations  of  some  verbs  are  due  to  those  pronominal  com- 
binations ; and  that,  as  a preliminary  process,  they  must  be  fully 
understood,  and  the  noun  and  verb  be  disentangled  from  those 
accessaries,  before  any  progress  can  be  made  in  the  acquire- 
ment of  the  language.  It  is  undoubtedly  for  that  reason,  that 
both  Eliot  and  Zeisberger  have  allotted  so  great  a portion  of 
their  Grammars  to  that  object. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  even  in  those  languages  which 
appear  most  complex,  the  power  of  analogy  in  the  human 
mind  is  such  as  necessarily  to  produce  a sufficient  degree  of 
uniformity  for  common  purposes ; and  that  accordingly  all  those 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


197 


multiplied  inflections  are  in  every  instance  reducible  to  rules, 
subject  to  more  or  less  exceptions,  according  as  the  plan  has  in 
its  progress  become  more  or  less  complex.  Many  of  these 
exceptions  may  be  traced  to  euphony,  and  become  also  subject 
to  the  rules  which  it  imposes.  One  instance  will  be  given, 
which  will  explain  the  apparent  anomalies  of  some  of  the 
Delaware  inflections. 

It  seems  that  the  surd  or  vocal  sound  belonging  to  the  ab- 
breviated pronouns,  and  which  Mr.  Heckewelder  expresses  by 
an  apostrophe,  («’,  k[,  w’,  or  ne,  kc,  we  ; in  Chippeway  ni, 
ki,  o ,)  is  essential  to  them,  or  cannot  coalesce  with  a vowel. 
Whenever  therefore  a vowel  is  the  first  letter  of  a verb,  the 
expletive  consonant  d is  inserted  between  the  characteristic  of 
the  pronoun  and  the  verb.  The  rule  does  not  apply  to  the 
sound  u or  o,  but  extends  to  the  cases  where  the  verb  begins 
with  I. 

Achpin,  5 to  stay  ’ ; n’dappi,  k'dappi,  ‘ I stay,’  ‘ thou  stayest.’ 

Acm,  ‘to  go  ’ ; n’da,  k’dct,  &c.  Ahoalan,  ‘ to  love  ’ ; 
n'dahoala,  k’dahoaia,  &c. 

Lissin,  ‘to  be  so  ’ ; n’delsi,  &c.  Lauchsin  ‘ to  live  ’ ; n’cZe- 
lauchsin,  &c. 

Ltien,  ‘ to  say  ’ ; n’dellowe,  &c. 

But  tvulamalsi  makes  n’wZamalsi,  and  walhaton  makes  n’o- 
hcilton.  The  rule  appears  to  extend  to  the  Chippeway. 
Ishkodai,  ‘ fire  ’ ; ni  t&hkdaim,  ‘ my  fire  ’ ; ossin , ‘ a stone  ’ ; 
nin  t/ossineen,  ‘ my  stone  ’ ; ais,  ‘a  shell’;  nin  (Zaisim,  ‘my 
shell.’  (Schoolcraft.)  But  there  are  exceptions  ; os,  ‘ father  ’ ; 
nos,  ‘ my  father,’  and  not  ni  dos. 


The  various  means  adopted  by  the  several  Indian  nations  in 
order  to  effect  the  same  object,  that  of  concentrating  in  a 
single  word  the  two  pronouns  and  the  verb,  and  the  different 
character  which  the  first  steps  once  taken  have  impressed  on 
the  several  languages  respectively,  seem  to  deserve  attention, 
inasmuch  as  the  investigation  may  throw  some  light  on  the  his- 
tory of  the  formation  of  languages.  It  must  be  admitted  that 
the  cumbersome  apparatus,  with  which,  in  order  to  attain  such  a 
simple  object,  some  of  those  languages  have  been  overwhelmed, 
is  calculated  to  excite  wonder  rather  than  admiration.  Their 
system  of  transitions,  with  its  multiplied  inflections,  appears  to 
me  to  be  the  most  defective  part  of  the  Algonkin-Lenape  lan- 


198 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


guages.  Their  merit  seems  to  consist  in  their  innumerable 
analogical  and  most  convenient  derivatives;*  in  the  happy 
manner  by  which,  through  the  insertion  of  a single  particle, 
not  only  tenses  and  our  common  moods,  but  almost  every 
possible  modification  of  the  action,  is  specially  expressed  ; in 
the  flexibility  of  the  several  parts  of  speech,  which  has 
enabled  the  Indian  to  enrich  his  language  with  so  many  graphic 
compound  words,  and,  almost  at  will,  to  create  new  words, 
perfectly  intelligible  to  the  hearer,  for  every  new  object  or 
idea.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  horse  is  called  by  the  Chippe- 
ways,  paibaizhikogazhi,  and  by  the  Delawares,  nanayanges. 
Both  are  compound  significative  words ; the  literal  meaning  of 
the  first  being  “ the  animal  with  united  (solid)  hoofs,”  of  the 
second,  “the  animal  that  carries  on  its  back.” 

The  several  Indian  languages  seem  to  differ  Considerably 
in  their  respective  powers  and  methods  of  compounding  words. 
Our  information  on  that  subject  is  as  yet  very  imperfect  for 
most  of  them.  But  the  designation  of  the  several  modifica- 
tions of  which  the  action  is  susceptible,  by  particles  prefixed, 
affixed,  or  inserted,  either  significative,  arbitrary,  or  the  mean- 
ing of  which  is  lost,  appears  to  be  a feature  common  to  all. 
An  illustration  of  this  principle  is  found  in  the  formation  of 
the  tenses,  of  the  passive  voice,  and  of  the  negative  form  in 
various  languages.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  tables  in  the  Appen- 
dix, that  the  number  of  tenses  is  not  the  same  in  all.  All 
indeed  have  a present,  a preterite,  and  a future  ; but  we  find  in 
some  a pluperfect,  in  others  a double  future,  sometimes  referring 
to  the  nearer  or  greater  length  of  time  which  may  elapse  be- 
fore the  action  takes  place,  sometimes  implying  respectively, 
as  in  the  English  will  and  shall,  a voluntary  act  or  an  obligation. 
In  some  of  the  languages,  that  of  Chili  for  instance,  there  are 
tenses,  the  nice  shades  of  distinction  between  which  may  not 
be  precisely  understood  by  foreigners.  A peculiarity  common 
to  many  is  the  use  of  the  present  for  the  preterite.  In  the 
Cherokee,  a form  derived  from  the  participle  has  been  resorted 
to,  in  order  to  designate  with  precision  the  present  (“  I tying  ” 
meaning  I do  now  tie  ”).  In  the  language  of  Chili,  an  insu- 
lated tense,  unconnected  with  the  regular  general  system,  has 
been  added  for  the  same  purpose. 


* See,  for  instance,  the  derivatives  of  ivulik,  ‘ good,’  in  Du  Ponceau’s 
and  Heckewelder’s  Correspondence,  pp.  394,  395. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


199 


Referring  to  the  Grammatical  Notices  and  to  the  Tables  for 
further  details,  vve  insert  here  only  the  most  general  modes  of 
formation. 

The  preterite  is  formed  in  the  Delaware  by  affixing  the  ter- 
mination eep,  neep,  ep,  or  hump ; in  the  Eskimau  by  affixing 
sok  ; in  the  Choctaw  by  affixing  kamo  or  chamo,  tuk  or  tok, 
each  of  which  terminations  designates  a different  modification  ; 
in  the  Onondago,  by  affixing  ochre,  ochqua,  nha,  &c.,  vary- 
ing according  to  the  termination  of  the  verb  ; in  the  Sioux  by 
affixing  kong  ; in  the  language  of  Chili,  by  inserting  vu. 

The  future  is  formed  in  the  Delaware  by  affixing  tsh,  or 
ktsh\  in  the  Eskimau,  by  affixing  savok ; in  the  Choctaw,  by 
affixing  chi,  or  he,  according  as  the  action  is  to  take  place  im- 
mediately or  at  some  remote  time  ; in  the  Onondago,  by 
prefixing  n,  or  na,  the  first  if  the  act  is  voluntary,  the  last  if 
ordered  ; in  the  Sioux,  by  affixing  ktay  ; in  Chilian  by  insert- 
ing a. 

The  negative  form  is  made  in  the  Delaware,  by  affixing  wi 
and  prefixing  generally  the  negative  atta,  or  matta ; in  the 
Choctaw,  by  prefixing  ik,  or  ok  ; in  the  Eskimau,  by  inserting 
ngil ; in  the  Muskhogee,  by  affixing  kost  (?)  ; in  the  Cherokee, 
by  prefixing  tlah ; in  the  Chilian,  by  inserting  la. 

The  passive  voice  is  formed  in  the  Delaware,  by  affixing  xi, 
or  gussi  ; in  the  Cherokee,  by  affixing  gung  ; in  the  language 
of  Chili,  by  inserting  ge  ; in  the  Choctaw  by  inserting  ull  in 
the  body  of  the  verb  and  using  the  objective  case  of  the 
pronoun  (‘  thou  tiest,’  ish  tokch  ; ‘ thou  art  tied,’  chit  tull 
okch  ) ; in  the  Muskhogee,  by  affixing  agy,  and  also  using  the 
objective  case  of  the  pronoun.  In  the  Onondago,  a distinct 
set  of  pronouns  is  substituted  in  the  passive  voice.  Active 
wagerio,  wascherio,  waharrie,  ‘ I,  thou,  he,  beat,5  passive  ; 
junkerio, jetserio,  thuwarrie,  ‘I  am,  thou  art,  he  is  beaten.’ 

The  collocation  of  those  particles  is  in  each  language  respec- 
tively very  uniform,  and  may  be  understood  by  the  following 
examples. 

neg.  pr.  verb . pas.  neg.  plur . pret. 

Delaware,  Matta  n’penda  xi-wi-wun-ap  ; ‘ we  were  not  heard.’ 

verb.  neg.  pas.  pret.pl.  pron. 

Chili,  Elu-la-ge-vu-ygn  ; ‘ we  were  not  given.’ 

The  indicative  and  subjunctive  moods  alone  have  as  yet 
been  mentioned.  Of  the  imperative,  it  may  be  sufficient  here 


200 


A SYNOPSIS  OP  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


to  observe  that  its  second  person  singular  is,  in  many  of  the 
Indian  languages,  if  not  the  root,  at  least  one  of  the  most 
simple  forms  of  the  verb.  In  others  the  present  of  the  indica- 
tive, and  sometimes  the  infinitive,  are  amongst  the  simplest 
forms.  In  the  Choctaw,  tolcche,  which  is  the  root  of  the  verb 
“ to  tie,”  is  equally  the  third  person  singular  of  the  present  of 
the  indicative,  the  second  person  singular  of-  the  imperative, 
and  the  infinitive.  But  if  the  third  person  of  the  present  in- 
dicative appears  in  that  and  several  other  languages  in  a more 
simple  form  than  the  two  first  persons  of  the  same  tense,  it  is 
only  owing  to  the  common  omission  of  the  pronoun  of  that 
third  person.  The  infinitive  seems  to  be  less  used  in  the  In- 
dian languages  than  in  those  of  Europe ; but  they  are,  in 
general,  rich  in  participles,  present,  past,  and  future,  active  and 
passive,  and  susceptible  of  modifications  which  render  their 
use  extensively  applicable  and  of  great  utility. 

If  we  take  the  word  “ mood,”  in  its  most  extensive  sense,  it 
will  be  found  that  their  number  far  exceeds,  in  the  Indian 
that  in  the  European  languages.  By  affixing,  prefixing,  or 
inserting  an  arbitrary  particle,  or  rather  an  abbreviated  noun, 
verb,  adverb,  preposition,  or  conjunction,  the  verb  is  made  to 
designate  the  specific  modification  of  the  action.  Whether 
that  new  form  should  be  considered  as  a mood  of  the  same 
verb,  or  as  a derivative,  is  not  very  important.  But  it  is  a 
matter  of  regret,  that  our  information  on  that  most  interesting 
view  of  the  Indian  languages,  and  generally  respecting  all  that 
relates  to  derivative  and  compounded  words,  though  sufficient 
to  show  the  extent  to  which  those  several  processes  are  car- 
ried, is  too  limited  to  enable  us  to  exhibit  the  subject  in  a 
condensed  and  perspicuous  form.  The  appended  grammatical 
notices  embrace  the  substance  of  what  could  be  collected  in 
that  respect ; and  reference  must  be  had  for  further  details, 
particularly  concerning  the  Algonkin-Lenape  languages,  to  the 
works  of  the  American  philologist,  from  whose  writings  extracts- 
have  been  made.  A very  incomplete  and  desultory  enumera- 
tion may  convey  some  idea  of  those  multiplied  forms. 

Nouns  have  varied  terminations  indicative  of  resemblance, 
locality,  analogy,  fellowship  ; diminutive  and  derogative  forms, 
and  others  implying  beauty  or  increase  ; annexed  inseparable 
prepositions,  meaning,  in,  under,  on,  at,  about,  near,  towards, 
through,  &c.  And  substantives  coalesce  with  adjectives  so  as 
to  express  in  a single  word  almost  every  qualification  of  which 
any  object  is  susceptible. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


201 


Independent  of  causative,  reflected,  and  reciprocal  verbal 
forms,  the  following  are  found  : 

‘ He  is  used,  continues,  intends,  is  about,  is  finishing,  is  at  lib- 
erty to  do  a certain  act.’  * I see  far  off,  near,  one  I know,’  &c. 
‘ It  rains  hard,  by  showers,  steadily.’  £ The  action  is,  has  been, 
or  may  be  done,  ill,  better,  in  a different  manner,  quickly,  at- 
tentively, rarely,  probably,  jointly,  repeatedly,’  &c.,  with  vari- 
ous other  modifications  expressive  of  doubt,  likeness,  denial, 
various  degrees  of  assertion,  &c.# 

Words  compounded  by  the  union  of  two  verbs,  or  of  a 
verb  and  a noun,  are  in  general  use.  The  manner  of  com- 
pounding words,  by  uniting  in  a single  one  the  abbreviations, 
sometimes  a single  syllable,  or  even  letter,  of  five,  six  or  more 
words,  belongs  equally  to  the  Eskimau  and  to  the  Algonkin, 
and  extends,  if  not  universally,  probably  to  many  other  langua-- 
ges.  Some  examples  will  be  found  in  the  Grammatical  Notices, 
and  amongst  these,  one  of  seventeen  syllables  in  the  Chero- 
kee : wi-ni-taw-ti-ge-gi-na-li-skaw-lung-ta-naw-ne-li-ti-se-sti ; 
which  means,  “ They  will  by  that  time  have  nearly  finished 
granting  (favors)  from  a distance  to  thee  and  me.”  But  this 
and  similar  words  are  not  in  common  use,  and  only  show  to 
what  extent  words  may  be  compounded  in  conformity  with  the 
analogies  of  the  language,  so  as  to  be  perfectly  intelligible  to 
an  Indian. 

That  flexibility  which  has  brought  into  common  use  the 
conversion  of  every  part  of  speech  into  another,  and  which 
has  produced  that  multiplicity  of  forms,  of  derivatives,  and  of 
compounded  words,  and  that  perpetual  concentration  of  com- 
plex ideas  in  a single  word,  is  not  only  the  most  striking  com- 
mon characteristic  of  the  Indian  languages,  but  must,  it  is 
believed,  have  in  some  respects  imparted  to  them  greater  pow- 
ers than  seem  to  belong  to  those  of  Europe.  Some  most 
respectable  philologists  have  indeed  seen  in  those  features  the 
proof  of  an  ancient  civilization.  Even  the  learned  authors  of 

* Even  in  the  Cheppeyan  language  (Athapasca),  of  which  we  have 
only  the  specimen  of  two  pages  in  Mr.  Du  Ponceau’s  collection,  we 
find  the  following  forms : bainaysnie, ‘ 1 have  some  recollection  ’ ; bain- 
asnie,  ‘ I recollect ’ ; subainasnie,  ‘I  do  remember.’  When  I asked 
Mr.  Boudinot  to  give  me,  amongst  other  verbal  forms,  the  Cherokee 
word  for  we  two  are  tied , he  immediately  answered ; there  are  two 
forms.  ‘We  two  are  tied  together,’  agehnahlung ; ‘we  are  both  tied, 
but  each  separately,’  dagenahlung.  (Note,  that  Mr.  Boudinot  uses  d, 
where  Mr.  Worcester  writes  t.) 

vol.  ii.  26 


202  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

the  Mithridates  wonder  “ how  such  people  can  have  performed 
such  philological  work,  which  can  only  have  been  the  result  of 
profound  and  abstract  meditations.”  And  it  is  remarkable  that 
this  assertion  is  in  part  founded  on  the  multiplied  inflections  of 
the  transitions  of  the  verb.  “ What  is  most  extraordinary  is 
the  prodigious  number  of  forms  expressing  the  accusative  case 
of  pronouns  governed  by  the  verb.”* 

May  not  our  early  impressions  have  associated  in  our  minds 
a general,  though  vague  notion  of  inflected  languages,  with  an 
advanced  state  of  civilization  ? The  admiration  felt  for  the 
great  writers  of  Rome  and  Greece,  the  real  superiority  in  many 
respects  of  their  languages  over  those  of  Modern  Europe,  the 
origin  of  these  in  the  invasions  of  barbarous  nations  and  in  the 
ages  of  darkness  which  followed,  have  given  us  the  habit  of 
associating  inflected  languages  with  knowledge  and  civilization, 
and  those  destitute  of  those  forms  with  barbarism  and  ignorance. 
Yet  the  undeniable  merits  of  the  classical  languages  will  be 
found,  on  reflection,  to  consist  in  their  perfection,  in  the  manner 
in  which  the  principle  has  been  applied,  rather  than  the  princi- 
ple itself. 

It  is  not  certainly  in  the  multiplied  inflections  used  in  the  transi- 
tions of  some  of  the  Indian  languages  that  we  find  proofs  of  pro- 
found meditations.  All  those  inflections,  however  varied,  never 
contain,  independent  of  the  root  of  the  verb,  any  other  ideas, 
but  those  of  two  pronouns,  respectively  agent  and  object  of  the 
action.  In  whatever  manner  the  ideas  contained  in  ‘ I love 
thee,’  ‘ you  love  me ,’  may  be  expressed,  the  accessaries  embraced 
by  the  word  or  words  are  never  any  thing  more  or  less  than 
‘ I thee,’  ‘ you  me ,’  &c.  The  fact  that,  although  the  object  in 
view  was,  in  every  known  Indian  language  without  exception, 
to  concentrate  in  a single  word  those  pronouns  with  the  verb, 
yet  the  means  used  for  that  purpose  are  not  the  same  in  any 
two  of  them,  shows  that  none  of  them  was  the  result  of  philo- 
sophical researches  and  preconcerted  design.  And,  in  those 
which  abound  most  in  inflections  of  that  description,  nothing 
more  has  been  done,  in  that  respect,  than  to  effect,  by  a most 
complex  process  and  with  a cumbersome  and  unnecessary 
machinery,  that  which,  in  almost  every  other  language,  has 
been  as  well  if  not  better  performed  through  the  most  simple 
means.  Those  transitions,  in  their  complexness  and  in  the  still 


* Mithridates.  — Esquimaux, 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


203 


visible  amalgamation  of  the  abbreviated  pronouns  with  the  verb, 
bear  in  fact  the  impress  of  primitive  and  unpolished  languages. 

But  even  taking  into  consideration  the  most  happy  features 
of  the  Indian  languages,  the  fact,  that  they  were  universally 
spoken  by  the  American  nations,  whether  uncivilized  or  semi- 
civilized,  does  not,  so  long  as  we  remain  unacquainted  with  their 
origin,  justify  either  of  the  assertions,  that  men  in  the  early 
stages  of  society  necessarily  must,  or,  on  the  contrary,  that 
they  could  not  have  adopted  such  forms.  The  only  natural 
and  legitimate  inference,  since  the  fact  is  indubitable,  is,  that 
compounded  and  inflected  words  were  one  of  the  modes  which 
naturally  might  be,  and  which  in  this  instance  was  actually, 
resorted  to  by  man,  in  order  to  communicate  his  ideas  in  an 
intelligible  manner. 

There  are  strong  reasons  for  believing,  not  only  that  this, 
though  perhaps  nowhere  carried  to  the  same  extent  as  in 
America,  was  a process  early  adopted,  by  other  nations  ; but 
that  all  that  belongs  to  the  grammar,  to  the  character,  and  to 
the  general  structure  of  every  ancient  language  must  have  had 
its  origin  in  the  earliest  stages  of  the  social  state,  and  before 
man  could  have  attained  a high  degree  of  knowledge,  and  made 
any  great  progress  in  all  that  constitutes  civilization.  It  must 
indeed  be  admitted,  that  those  reasons  cannot,  from  the  nature 
of  the  question,  amount  to  absolute  proof;  and  the  following 
remarks  are  intended  only  as  suggesting  subjects  of  inquiry. 

There  are  in  Africa,  in  Asia,  in  Polynesia,  numerous  nations, 
of  whose  languages  we  know  little  more  than  what  may  be 
inferred  from  meagre  vocabularies.  An  investigation  of  their 
grammatical  forms  would  throw  great  light  on  the  subject.  In 
the  mean  while,  it  deserves  notice,  that  the  great  philologist 
Vater  could  point  out  but  two  languages  that,  on  account  of  the 
multiplicity  of  their  forms,  had  a character,  if  not  similar,  at 
least  analogous  to  those  of  America.  These  were  the  Congo 
and  the  Basque.  The  first  is  spoken  by  a barbarous  nation  of 
Africa.  The  other  is  now  universally  admitted  to  be  a remark- 
able relic  of  a most  ancient  and  primitive  language,  formed  in 
the  most  early  ages  of  the  world.* 

* Without  admitting  the  antediluvian  pretensions  of  Cantabrian 
writers,  it  is  at  least  obvious  that  the  Basque  was  the  ancient  Iberian, 
the  Aquitanian  of  Caesar,  and  that,  before  the  progress  of  the  Teutonic, 
Phoenician,  and  Latin  nations,  Western  Europe  was  occupied  in  the  north 
by  the  Celts,  in  the  south  by  the  Iberians.  Their  respective  languages 


204 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


The  modem  languages  of  Western  Europe  were  formed  at  a 
time  when  writing  had  long  been  in  general  use;  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult, if  not  impossible,  to  discriminate  between  what  might  be 
considered  as  the  natural  progress  of  language,  and  the  effect 
produced  by  the  mixture  of  distinct  idioms,  and  by  the  respec- 
tive influence  of  each.  It  is  obviously  impossible  to  have  any 
evidence  of  the  oral  languages  of  antiquity,  before  they  had 
been  reduced  to  writing.  We  cannot  ascend  higher  than  the 
most  ancient  works  which  have  been  preserved. 

We  cannot  assert  positively,  that  the  Pentateuch  and  the 
Iliad  were  the  first  books  ever  written  in  Hebrew  and  in  Greek. 
But  there  is  the  highest  degree  of  probability  that  both  of  them 
were  composed  and  written  at  an  epoch  so  near  the  time  when 
writing  had  been  first  introduced  amongst  the  Jews  and  the 
Greeks  respectively,  that  that  invention  could,  as  yet,  have 
produced  but  little  effect  on  the  language  of  either.  We  may 
therefore  justly  consider  those  two  works,  as  the  nearest  possi- 
ble approximation  to  the  oral  language  of  those  two  people 
prior  to  the  discovery  of  the  alphabet.  If  we  find  in  them  the 
same  grammatical  forms,  and  substantially  the  same  structure  of 
language,  as  in  the  following  ages  of  Hebraic  and  Greek  litera- 
ture, it  affords  a strong  presumption,  tbat  those  forms  and  all 
that  essentially  constitutes  the  character  of  a language  had 
their  origin  prior  to  the  invention  of  writing,  and  in  a very 
early  stage  of  society. 

Those  two  languages  belong  to  two  distinct  and  dissimilar 
families.  In  one  of  them  we  find  a system  of  compounded 
words  and  of  inflections,  much  less  extensive  than  that  of  the 
American  nations,  but,  I suspect,  much  more  perfect,  and  as 
superior,  as  the  Greeks  even  of  the  Homeric  times,  were  to 
our  Indians.  In  the  Hebrew,  we  discover,  besides  several  other 
correspondences,* *  transitions,  or  the  combination  in  a single 
word  of  the  two  pronouns  with  the  verb.  Thus,  although  the 
application  of  the  principles  differs  widely  in  the  several  lan- 
guages, still  the  modes  adopted  were  originally  of  a similar 
character.  This  may  be  adduced  as  an  additional  proof  of  the 
common  origin  of  mankind.  It  proves,  at  all  events,  that  the 

prove  the  more  ancient  origin  of  the  Iberians,  or,  to  speak  more  cor- 
rectly, that  they  had  separated  from  the  common  stock  and  migrated 
westwardly  at  an  earlier  date. 

* The  use,  for  instance,  of  the  present  tense  for  the  preterite,  and  the 
resort  to  the  participle  for  designating  the  present  time  with  precision. 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


205 


same  modes  of  communicating  ideas  were  in  use  among  very 
different  nations,  at  the  most  early  times  of  which  we  have  any 
knowledge. 

A further  proof  of  the  very  early  use  of  inflected  forms  is 
afforded  by  the  fact,  that  we  find  them  amongst  all  those  nations, 
from  the  Ganges  to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  which  indubitably  belong 
to  the  same  stock.  They  must  therefore  have  had  their  origin 
at  an  epoch  prior  to  the  separation  of  those  nations,  and  which 
ascends  much  higher  than  the  invention  of  writing,  or  historical 
times. 

Though  not  belonging  to  our  Indians,  it  may  be  observed, 
that  the  invention  of  the  substantive  verb,  and  its  use  as  an 
auxiliary  verb,  are  also  of  great  antiquity,  since  they  are  common 
to  all  those  nations.  The  infinitive  to  be,  in  the  Latin  and'  Sla- 
vonian, and,  as  I am  informed,  in  the  Sanscrit,  means  also  to  eat. 
In  the  Delaware  language,  the  verb  pomrnauchsin  means  £ to 
walk  ’ and  1 to  live.’ 

Amongst  those  nations,  there  are  two,  which  do  not  appear 
to  have  ever  been  subdued,  since  they  occupied  their  present 
seats,  and  whose  languages,  apparently  unmixed  with  any  other, 
must  have  been  the  result  of  their  own  natural  progress.  The 
transient  dominion  of  Charlemagne  and  of  his  successors  was 
that  of  a Teutonic,  over  another  kindred  tribe  ; and  the  Latin 
did  not  penetrate  beyond  the  Rhine.  The  variations  along  the 
eastern  boundary  of  Germany,  which  divides  it  from  the 
Slavonic  nations,  have  only  affected  particular  districts  in  its 
immediate  vicinity.  The  heart  of  Germany  and  the  adjacent 
kindred  northern  nations  have  been  and  remained  Teutonic, 
without  any  foreign  mixture,  from  the  most  remote  antiquity  to 
the  present  time.  Although  the  Tartars  had  imposed  a tribute 
on  Russia,  they  made  no  permanent  settlement  in  the  country ; 
and  their  language  cannot  have  had  any  marked  influence  on 
the  Slavonian. 

The  Gothic  translation  of  the  Gospels  by  Ulphilas  was  made 
in  the  fourth  century,  and  is  the  oldest  specimen  we  have  of 
the  Teutonic  languages.  I have  seen  no  other  specimen  of  it 
than  “ Our  Lord’s  Prayer,”  in  the  “ Mithridates  ” ; but,  if  I am 
correctly  informed,  the  language  of  that  translation  exhibits  the 
same,  and  even  a greater  variety  of  inflections  and  of  grammati- 
cal forms,  than  are  found  in  the  modern  German,  or  in  any  of 
the  other  languages  of  the  same  family.  The  grammars  of  the 
ancient  Anglo-Saxon  corroborate  the  fact.  All  that  relates  to 


206 


A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 


the  German  must  be  left  to  the  great  philologists  of  that  nation. 
But,  generally  speaking,  it  would  seem,  as  if  the  progress  of 
language,  in  a more  advanced  state  of  civilization,  had  a ten- 

O O • / 

dency  towards  lessening  inflections  and  rendering  it  more  ana- 
lytical.* 

The  introduction  of  the  alphabet  in  Russia  and  her  conver- 
sion to  Christianity  belong  to  the  tenth  century ; and  we  have 
translations  of  the  Bible  and  of  various  church  hooks,  written  in 
the  ancient  Slavonic,  almost  immediately  after  those  events  took 
place.  They  are  therefore  the  true  representation  of  that 
which  till  then  had  been  only  an  oral  language.  There  again 
we  find  inflections,  less  numerous  perhaps  in  the  verbs,  but 
more  so  in  the  cases  of  nouns,  of  which  there  are  seven. 

These  various  facts,  combined,  sustain  the  opinion,  that  the 
grammatical  forms,  found  in  polished  languages,  had  their  origin 
at  a very  remote  epoch,  and  that,  having  impressed  a distinct 
character  upon  each,  they  have  not  been  materially  changed  by 
the  introduction  of  writing  and  by  the  progress  of  knowledge. 
Although  the  early  formation  of  languages  must  ever  remain  a 
subject  of  conjecture,  we  may  yet  say,  that  there  is  nothing 
inconsistent  in  that  opinion  with  the  manner  in  which  we  may 
rationally  suppose  that  they  were  formed.  After  names  had 
been  given  to  visible  objects  and  to  most  common  actions,  the 
foundation  being  laid  in  nouns  and  verbs,  the  necessity,  for  an 
intelligible  communication  of  ideas,  of  expressing  the  relations 
existing  between  things  and  actions  and  the  modifications  to 
which  they  were  subject,  must  have  given  rise  to  some  expe- 
dient for  that  purpose.  Since  there  were  several  means  for 
effecting  the  object,  the  modes  resorted  to  by  different  people 
have  varied.  But  whatever  mode  might  be  adopted,  the  neces- 
sity for  such  expedient  was  the  same  in  the  earliest  stages  of 
society  as  at  this  day.  Grammatical  forms  were  as  necessary, 
for  the  most  common  purposes,  and  when  the  knowledge  of 
man  and  his  sphere  of  ideas  were  most  limited,  as  in  the  most 


* In  the  English,  in  the  French  and  other  languages  of  Latin  origin, 
the  substitution  of  the  principle  of  position,  for  that  of  inflection,  is  suf- 
ficiently visible.  The  most  general  and  conspicuous  effect  has  been  the 
annihilation,  save  only  in  the  pronouns,  of  the  inflections  denoting  the 
case  of  the  noun  governed  by  the  verb.  As  these  have  been  preserved 
in  the  Slavonian  languages,  it  may  be  inferred,  that  the  mixture  of  idioms 
has  had  a great  share  in  producing  that  effect.  May  not  the  changes  in 
the  modern  Greek  be  partly  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  the  Italian  ? 


SECT.  VI.] 


INDIAN  LANGUAGES. 


207 


advanced  state  of  civilization.  Notwithstanding  the  great 
progress  of  knowledge  during  the  last  four  centuries,  though 
new  words  have  been  introduced  and  others  become  obsolete, 
though  languages  have  been  polished  and  adorned,  the  gram- 
matical forms  remain  the  same  as  they  were  four  hundred  years 
ago,  and  have  been  found  sufficient  for  the  communication  of 
new  ideas  and  of  all  that  may  have  been  added  to  our  knowl- 
edge. The  most  uneducated  men,  those  who  in  Europe  speak 
only  patois  of  the  written  language,  deviate  from  the  established 
rules  of  grammar,  but  use  grammatical  forms  to  the  same  extent 
as  the  best  masters  of  the  language.  It  seems  indeed  obvious, 
that  the  tendency  of  a written  language  is  to  give  it  stability, 
rather  than  to  change  its  nature  ; and  I believe  that  experience 
shows,  that  the  changes  have  everywhere  applied  much  more 
to  words  than  to  grammar. 

Although  we  cannot  say,  why  or  how  it  happened,  that  the 
relations  existing  between  things  and  actions,  the  qualifications 
of  the  things,  and  the  modifications  of  the  action  were  expressed, 
in  some  languages  by  new  words  invented  for  that  special  pur- 
pose, and  in  others  by  changes  of  termination,  insertion  of 
abbreviated  particles  or  words  compounded  in  different  ways, 
we  easily  understand  how  the  principle,  which  was  once  intro- 
duced, must  gradually  have  extended  its  influence  over  the 
whole  language.  Analogy  is  sufficient  to  explain  all  the  phe- 
nomena, after  an  innovation  suggested  by  necessity  had  been 
generally  adopted  ; and  there  is  no  difficulty  in  conceiving,  how 
a peculiar  character  was  thus  impressed  on  each  language  from 
its  earliest  formation. 

Every  innovation  in  language  must,  in  the  first  instance,  have 
been  the  work  of  some  one  individual,  to  whom  it  was  suggested 
by  the  necessity  of  finding  some  new  means  in  order  to  render 
himself  intelligible.  After  names,  till  then  inflexible,  had  been 
given  to  visible  objects,  and  to  the  generality  of  actions,  the 
man,  who  first  thought  of  expressing  the  qualification  or  modifi- 
cation of  either,  or  their  relation,  by  a mere  variation  in  the 
word,  was  an  inventor.  It  is  very  natural  to  suppose,  that  that 
variation  consisted  at  first  in  blending  together  two  words,  either 
entire  or  abbreviated.  But,  whatever  the  process  may  have 
been,  the  inventors  were  not  philosophers.  The  invention  was 
suggested  by  necessity,  adopted  on  account  of  its  convenience 
and  utility,  and  extended  to  similar  cases  by  analogy.  The 
inventors,  and  those  who  adopted  the  innovation,  were  equally 


208  A SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES.  [iNTROD. 

unaware  of  its  ultimate  and  extensive  consequences,  and  of  the 
character  it  would  impress  on  the  whole  language.  It  may  be 
doubted,  whether  the  utmost  sagacity  of  men  could  have  anti- 
cipated those  effects,  and  whether  a more  perfect  language 
could,  even  at  this  day,  be  formed  by  the  most  learned  philolo- 
gists, than  any  that  has  been  produced  by  what  may  be  called 
natural  causes. 

If,  from  all  the  facts  which  we  can  collect,  it  appears  that 
inflections  and  compounded  words  have  been,  amongst  the 
natural  and  common  means,  resorted  to  in  the  most  ancient 
times  by  other  nations,  for  an  intelligible  and  full  communication 
of  their  ideas  ; if  it  is  also  natural  to  suppose,  that,  where  not 
regulated  by  writing  and  eminent  writers,  the  application  of  the 
principle  may  have  become  superabundant  and  excessive  ; there 
is  not,  it  seems,  sufficient  reason  for  inferring  from  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  languages  of  the  Indians,  that  they  had  their 
origin  in  a state  of  society,  differing  from  that  which  was  found 
to  exist  in  North  America,  when  discovered  by  the  Europeans. 


Date  Due 

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905  A512T  v. 2 1836  441072 


